The Path to Remembrance
by Shamanah
Summary: Weird things are happening on Planet Zi. Rumors of the strangest sort are spreading. And as the Gaurdian Force sets out to investigate these tales, they are going to meet someone with a past more mysterious than the rumors themselves.
1. Prologue to a Journey

I dedicate this fic to all you diehard fans of Zoids: Chaotic Century. There is a very slight possibility of future crossovers with other shows; however, I'm not making any promises. If any of yal have any suggestions, I'm open to them, cause I'm gonna make mistakes. And reviews would be appreciated, too. As for all you flamers out there,….. grab your torches.

Disclaimer: I own my OC and the clothes on my back, but not much else.

Prolog to a journey

_Two swords are clashing_.

_Clashing, in a never-ending dance._

A teenage girl, covered in all manners of injuries, wearily parries another attack from her opponent, a tall, darkly dressed man, with a maniacal grin spread wide across his face. He has his fair share of bumps and bruises too, but does not seem all that affected by them as he leaps forward, swinging his enormous broad sword. The girl, too weak to completely stop the blow, is knocked backwards. She flips acrobatically, and lands in a fighting stance, twirling her crimson blade expertly. Seeing this, the opponent giggled insanely, before charging forward, his giggling slowly changing into mad laughter. Shuddering, the teen steadies herself, panting and waiting for his attack.

_CLAANG!_

The two weapons meet, locking between the combatants. Before her insane opponent can react, she kicks her foot out, catching him in the chest. He flies backward, hits the ground, rolls and jumps to his feet again, gnashing his teeth in frustration.

She takes a deep breath, and dives back into the fray, with renewed vigor.

_The world is spinning, completely out of control, as the two combatant's battle on, never ceasing._

_Blood is everywhere, running from the countless wounds on both individuals._

_Dripping and draining._

_Bleeding._

_Ever bleeding._

_The teen sweats and bleeds…draining…painfully, of her life's energy…and….is slowly being claimed by Death as well._

_WHUMP!_

His fist slams into her stomach, knocking the air from her lungs. Desperately, she gasps for breath that isn't found and barely blocks in time as his sword swings down toward her neck.

With inhuman speed, she sweeps her leg out, attempting to knock him off his feet. He jumps up just in time and back flips, landing several feet away from her. She pushes herself to unsteady feet, ready to continue the spar.

"RAAA-HAAAH!" he roars as he leaps forward, drooling in an animalistic manner.

The teenrolls past him, jumpsand karate kicks him in the middle of his back. He stumbled forward, before catching himself, and hand-flips. In midair he swings his sword like a baseball bat, catching her in the shoulder.

She gasps, wincing andgrabbing at her fresh wound.

The maniac begins to laugh once more at the sight of fresh blood, and attacks again.

_CLASSHHH!_

_His mad cackling fades loss of sound._

_Desperation rules._

_Nothing else but survival matters as the haze of blood loss sets in, fogging her mind._

_Slowing her body._

_She holds on by a strong, but weakening, Passion._

_Holding on to life, refusing to release her grip on it._

_Defiant to the end._

_Red, red, red,...everything red._

_The world swims in it, gasps in it, and continues to slowly die in it as well._

_Muscles tremble and burn in exhaustion, and that same Passion is beginning to burn out, like a_

_flickering flame._

_Long black hair, coated in sweat and blood, hangs over violet eyes._

_The two sword fighters continue, as her world narrows down between herself and the other._

_Herself and the Destruction that would claim her should she falter…should she ever waver._

_SLAAAASH!_

His broad sword cuts through a computer console as his blow misses his target. The youth continues to evade his attacks, trying to conserve what was left of her energy.

"HRRAAA-AAAAUUUUUUGGHHHH!" he shrieks angrily, swinging wildly at the lithe teen.

She dives in as his assault leaves his abdomen wide open for attack, her sword's mildly serrated blade ripping away his flesh, leaving his red, trembling muscles open to the air.

He cries out, more in fury than in pain, and his attacks grow more wild and fierce. He swings at her skull, his mad eyes practically glowing with insanity. She ducks and swings her fist upwards, catching him in the jaw. A sickening crack fills the air. The teen dances away from her opponent. Prepared.

He just stands there for a second, furious eyes cooling from their rage. Finally, he reaches both hands up to his jaw, which was sticking out at an odd angle. Taking it in his hands, he jerks, pulls and pops it back into place, as the girl stood in shock. Gaping.

He looks up, his eyes renewing in their insanity.

She grips her blade and gets into the proper stance, as the berserker began to laugh hysterically. Lifting his head, he howled, like a lunatic would at the moon, and charged like a crazed bull, laughing all the while.

And, then…their weapons met once more.

_CllaCLAAANG!_

_The Passion that her life clings to is growing weaker._

_Fading._

_Disappearing with the rest of the senses:_

_Sight._

_Sound._

_And everything else._

_This,…was to be her final stand._

_And it would seem that Death had finally caught up with her._

"Hehehehehehehe-heeeehaahahahahahahahahaa-haaaaah!" he laughed, as he continued to whip his sword through the air, making her twirl out of the way of his wild attack.

Suddenly, he jumped into the air, blade held high above his head, and stabbed down into the earth were she had been just seconds before, having dove out of the way at the last moment. The madman twirled and slashed out sideways at her half-standing figure, grazing her arm. Adding another cut to her vast collection.

She stumbled away, partially blinded by the blood and sweat that was oozing into her eyes from the nasty concussion on the top of her head havingreceived it at the beginning of their battle. It was beginning totake its toll on her. She was getting dizzy, nauseous with blood loss.

Her movements were getting slower and weaker with every parry. Her agility fading as she grew unsteady on her feet, barely able to stand much less fight.

And he just grinned all the more.

Like the Cheshire Cat.

He began to hum to himself as he continued his vicious attack; landing more and more blows on the dying teen. However, his delirious humming was enough to anger her, to bring her back from the edge of Oblivion that her body had been working its way towards. She _would not_, …no… _refused_ to be mocked by this imbecile.

Summoning what was left of her strength, the girl pulled herself together, and rushed in for a final attack, snarling as she swung her sword to meet his.

"Haaah-HAAh!"

_Whoosh!_

_Slash!_

_CL-CLANNG!_

_It seemed that Destruction had come for her._

_Like it comes for us all._

_And...the warring continued._

_Their weapons continued to clash and clank, their blades biting into each other's flesh, compounding upon the red._

_Until...the calvary arrived._

_KKAABOOOOOOM!_

A sudden explosion startles the two rivals, who had beenbattling up high, on a platform that they had slowly fought their way up on.

Looking down, one could see the smoke and debris of what was left of a wall, where nearly a dozen scientific containers had been lined up, side by side. Many of these containers had been broken during the skirmish, leaking their nasty liquids upon the red stained floor. Now, nothing was there but an enourmous, smoking hole.

But, from beyond the gaping hole, voices were heard, shouting and yelling words that the girl could not make out at such a distance.

The dark appareled man glared at the racket, hissing and baring his teeth, his eyes bugged out horrifically.

And then….the teen realizes this is her chance.

Her chance to end the battle.

……. And she was definately going to take advantage of it.

"Hraaaugh!"

_Swiftly, she lunged forward, sword extended, driven by desperation, pain and...a still burning Passion._

_A weakened Passion, but a still flaming one none the less._

_The sword strikes true, and the other screams in anger and shock._

_But also fear._

_Fear of Death, which he believed himself to wield._

_To control._

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH-RAAAAAAHHAA-AAUUUUUUUGGGHHHH! " he screeched, the teen's red blade piercing through his chest and spine.

Blood began to spit up from his slavering lips, foaming and crimson as he screamed and convulsed.

The girl glared at the lunatic weakly, her sight fogging and her body trembling with exhaustion. Even as she watched him die, she felt no pity for this crazed man, who had hardly been responsible for his actions.

None whatsoever.

But then, he spoke to her, for the first time.

And, the final time as well.

"SnnkKKt….I-Hkkk…I may-nngrrghh(cough)……die….but-hicccckKt….I won't(hack)-(spurt)..(pant)..be the-snnKKKkkt….the last of-sppprrrk..the Roran'ty! I won't be-HkkktTTSss….THE LAST, ANGELA! HAHAHAha-hkkKKKTtsss-hahaheehheeeehahaaaaa-aaaaahsssskkkkkkttttsssssssssssssssss...," and with that said, the madman breathed his last.

The teen, Angela, looked tiredly at the now dead lunatic, whose body was slowly, oozingly, slipping off her sword.

"No," she admits, sighing, "You won't," and with those words, she wearily tugs her sword out of his body, adding even more blood to the crimson.

The dead stiff tumbles off the platform as Angela continues to shake, bracing herself on one of the platform pillars, panting...

_Whoosh!_

_And the body falls..._

_...And falls..._

_Falls down...upon a device._

_A mechanism of an unknown purpose._

_WHUMP!_

_When the dead man lands, his corpse accidentally presses down a control on this strange machine._

_And the newcomers, who had finally made their way into the room, cry out in alarm and panic, as a whirring noise fills the red stained hall._

_Desperately, they call a name._

_Her name._

_But she could not understand any of their other words._

_Only her name._

_And as the youth stumbles to her knees, she realizes that she is kneeling in a glowing circle._

_A circle_..._on top of the platform where they had been sparring._

_Where she was now_...

_Red lights are flashing in warning._

_And an electronic voice calls out, telling all personnel to come away from the dais._

_Which happened to be the very platform that she was on._

_But right as the dark claims her, the machine completes its task._

_A blinding white light envelops her._

_FLASH!_

_And_..._she is gone._

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_In an alternate universe..._

It is nighttime on the distant planet Zi. The twin moons illuminate the inky sky as they rise proudly over a mountainous region. Tall pines stand, brooding and dark, over deeply shadowed undergrowth. And all is silent.

_FLASH!_

A bright,white light flashes briefly into existence, casting frightening shadows on the already menacing conifers. And then, it is gone as quickly as it had come. But it left something behind. Or rather…._someone_.

Curled up in a bloody and tattered ball, the youth lies unconscious. Her violet eyes shut to the world around her; her long, black, blood soaked hair, draped about her in a sticky mess. The scarlet sword lays next to her, red and tacky with the crimson that seems to plague her. The air is crisp and cool, enough to make one shiver, but she lies still. Still and silent, like the darkness about her.

But she is not dead. Her lungs still draw air. Her heart still beats. Weakly, but it still beats beneath her chest. The fiery Passion that had kept her alive during combat has cooled, but is still there. Smoldering like the embers of a fire, that smokes and threatens to flame. This Passion,…this thirst to live, but willingness to die for a cause, this powerful emotion that resides in a gifted few, has kept her alive for quite some time. It was keeping her alive right then and there, as she bled from her copious wounds. And this Passion, like an instinct, will continue to keep her alive 'til Death did claim her, as it claims us all. But until then she lives………defying all logic and reason, she lives…………..

A short distance away, barely even a mile, a familiar, blue, blade-liger pads along, followed closely by a green and black Di-bison. The pilots of these Zoids are, of course, Van Flieheight and Thomas Shubaltz, who were accompanied by Elisa Linette (a.k.a. Fiona) and Zeke, Van's faithful Organoid. Yes, it has been barely six months since the attack of the Death Saurer and Hiltz, and the Guardian Force is still being kept busy.

At the moment, the four of them were answering a call for help, from an isolated little colony named Ice-gale, which was located high up in the pine covered Orosis Mts.

They had received reports of a group of 'terrorist mercenaries', who were trying to stir up trouble between the Republic and the Empire once more. This group had been badgering Ice-gale and several other colonies for some time.

Also, there were over two dozen missing persons cases situated in this area, going back about a year or so. There had been wild rumors about this situation in particular, such as bright flashes of light that the 'missing persons in question' would disappear in, which had been labeled as 'abductions'. Whether these rumors where true or not had yet to be seen. But the four actually had to 'get' to the colony first; which was proving to cause some difficulty…….

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" asked Thomas, for what seemed like the millionth time.

"For the _millionth_ time, yes! Jeez, if you ask me that just once more, just one more time, I swear to every god out there I'll…nnngghh….. rassingoodfornothingrrrfrackinlouzygrrrrff….," Van muttered, trailing off into unintelligible curses.

"Okay, okay, I get it. I was just saying, that Beek could-"

"Get us there faster or somethin'? Look, Tom, Kreuger said that it would take a while to get to Ice-gale. And you never even had to come in the first place. This was basically a one man mission; you simply 'volunteered' the second you heard that Fiona wanted come with me."

"Huh? What do you-Hey! Hold on a second! Just _what_ are you implying!" cried Thomas.

"You know darn well you-"

"Guys, please. Don't fight. Besides, we're almost there," pleaded Fiona as she pointed over Van's shoulder.

And she was right. The path that they were following steeped upwards so thatone could see the glittering lights of the village, through the trees. Finally, they had reached Ice-gale.

As the group makes their way up the trail, their Zoids still trekking along its dark path, they don't realize that a lone Command Wolf, hidden amongst the dark forest, is watching them. The Zoid growled and then stalked away, piloted by an unknown person. The Zoid was, in fact, a scout; a scout for whom, however, has yet to be known.

It begins to run, its orange cockpit glinting in the moonlight. As it bounds across the rocky terran it lets out a howl before disappearing completely into the night.

The four friends had not heard the wolf's cry, for their entire attention was focused on reaching their goal. But, a mile away, as the howl drifts through the mountains and reaches the unconscious girl, she awakes with a start.

"……………..,"

Only to curl up into a tighter ball, clenching her eyes shut and shivering in pain.

……………And she could not remember. Anything. Not even her name.

Shamanah presents…………

The Path to Remembrance


	2. Icegale 1

Disclaimer: Do I really need to repeat myself?

Jafson's Place was the local bar in the small colony of Ice-gale. It was were the adults could meet on the weeknights and exchange laughs, gossip, tall tales…….and of course beer. But lately, with the harassment from the mercenary gang and the disappearances, the villagers went there to talk about their predicament and prepare for the worst.

And tonight's hot topic was the impending arrival of the Guardian Force, and whether they would truly be of assistance….or not.

"They sayz-hic!-that theeze guyz are _good._ Ya's all heard-hic-them talez of that thar' _Doom Saucer _and that evul-hic!-_Hallz _chaructar. Word haz it that theeze fo' took car' of dem reel nice-hic!-like," proclaimed a middle aged man with a heavy beer accent. The liquor frothed down his stubble as he took another long gulp.

"That's the _Death Saurer _and _Hiltz _yah drunken oaf! And all that otha stuff is just rumas; we can't prove it none! That all happened hunnerds 'a' miles away, an' since none 'a' us was there, we don't really know what happened, now do we? Hmm? These 'Guardian Force' folks could just be cons! Here ta steal our hard-earned credits! Is'not bad enuff, that we gottsta deal with mercs, and our friends an' loved ones up an' disappearin' ova' night? So, Ah say that we deal wiff those basta'd terra'ist ourself's! Ah've gots meself a 'Rapta! The Waler brothas have got some Guysacks and ole' Phil 'as got himself a Command Wolf leftover from his glory days as pilot! We'd whup up on those sons of bich's real good!" declared a young man named Gawn, who looked to be in his early twenties.

His words stirred up the villagers, for better and for worse. However, approval seemed to come from the majority. That is until, an old war veteran named Guss had his say.

"And, young man, what of the 'abductions'. Aren't _they _the greater threat to our colony?"

Gawn blinked and then sweatdropped, unable to come up with much of an answer.

"Ummm, w-well, yeah………'a' corse. I-I mean,……um..."

"………..Thiry-one people taken, Gawn. _Thirty-one_. How do you propose we stop what we cannot evenpredict?" Guss paused to let his words sink into the now quiet bar. When no one responded, he continued,_ "_The mercenaries are a problem, yes. But we discovered that they were not the abductors a long time ago. These terrorists are just men. We can _fight_ them. We could possibly even win. But as for those who can come into our homes without us even realizing it, take someone we love, and leave without a trace of even existing….how do we fight _that_? With Zoids? With other weapons? With our _bare hands? _No…….._we_ cannot. No matter how much we may want to, we cannot afford to stand alone in this. We _need help. _We,…our families, our friends, …._Ice-gale_ …….needs help. And the Guardian Force has been sent to do just that: to help us. Maybe they can; _or, _perhaps they cannot. But if worst comes to worst, we may have to leave Ice-gale altogether."

"Leave?" "We can't!" "This is our home; where else have we to go!"

"Who died an' made you tha' high an' mighty leader, eh Guss?" "I just want mah family ta' be safe!"

The cries of anger and fear continued, until an authoritative voice thundered over the racket.

"ENOUGH!"

The bar silenced immediately. Even the loud and obnoxious drunks quieted into submission.

For, a tall, muscular young man stood in the middle of the floor, amongst the many tables. His name was Torick Mallo, the grandson of the village elder and a local 'hero' of the villagers; though, most folks just called him 'Torque'. To put it as simply as possible, he was very respected in Ice-gale, his achievements well known. The people loved him for his character and personality, and adored him for his leadership skills and good charisma. So, when Torque was talking, people were going to listen.

"Ah know that weh are all worried about what is going to happen. And many of us are afraid for our families and our lives," he spoke, his eyes drifting from one side of the room to the next. Even at these short sentences, murmurs of agreement bubbled from the group, and he patiently waited for the people to drift into silence once more before speaking. "Ah don't like the idea of having to leave Ice-gale any more than yal do; and, frankly, if it was just the mercs, then Ah'd do meh best ta fight 'em off like Gawn ova' thar suggested." At the reference, Gawn smiled, nodding his head.

"But……it isn't just tha mercenaries, is it? As hard as it for meh to say it, Guss is right, in more ways than one." Distressed mutterings rose from the crowd, but Torque silenced them with a glance. And continued.

"Leavin' seems a 'lil farfetched just yet. Ice-gale has a chance as long as weh are willin' ta give it one. So, Ah say that weh give these Guardian folks a shot. NowAh'm not sayin' that we be dimwitted; we should keep an eye on them, see if thar the real deal or not. If they are, then, maybe they can do somethin' about it 'all'. If not….then, Ah guess that weh run'em outta town." Appreciative chuckles arose from a few at the last bit, but they quickly faded out.

"So…….what do ya'll say?" Torque finished.

"We should put 'er to a vote!" cried one.

"Aye! A vote!" cried another.

A clamor of voices filled the air temporarily, before the villagers agreed to the task.

"Alright then, whose of yal' are for it?"

There were fifty-two villagers in Jafson's Place that night. Fifty-two hands eventually rose. Even the outspoken Gawn agreed, proudly raising his hand as high as he could.

As this 'speech' had gone on, Guss had been observing it off on the sidelines, watching how Torque had handled the crowd. He nodded his head in satisfaction.

Torque, who was now surrounded by a group of beaming and chattering people, looked beyond the clamoring bunch and the two made eye contact. Finally, the old veteran tipped his head in thanks, Torque returning the favor with a grim smile. And with that, Guss turned and headed for the door, grabbing his staff as he went.

Outside in the brisk night air, the old man sighed softly, before heading for the road that steeped upwards and away from Ice-gale. Higher into the mountains. Just as he disappeared from view, merging into the darkness, the three friends arrived on foot, having left their Zoids and Zeke in a clearing near the colony, trying to not to make a scene.

"Sooooo,…..what now?" asked the ever questioning Lt. Shubaltz, as he peered at their humble surroundings.

"I don't know about you guys, but I would give an arm and a leg for something to eat right about now," said Van.

"Yes, I am rather hungry myself," Fiona admitted.

"Well, I _suppose _I should eat something, too. It's not like I really need to. I can go weeks without really eating anything, you know, being trained for endurance in the Imperial army and-"

"Ya know Tom, you could just say that your hungry too. It shouldn't hurt your ego that much," stated Van.

"Oh, your saying that _I _have an ego? Are you kidding me? Van, y_ou're _the one who's always running around-----"

And the two began to, once again, argue. But Fiona was ignoring them, as she continued to observe the quaint little colony.

Fiona quickly spotted the brightly lit windows of "Jafson's Place". The smell of food and drink wafted across the distance towards the trio, tempting and tantalizing. _There _was the place to get some grub. And so, she turned to the bickering boys.

"Oh for Eve's sake! I am not the one who-"

"Van? Thomas?"

"Huh?"

"Yes, Ms. Fiona?"

"Look."

They did and in doing so, spotted the bar. Shaking her head, she then proceeded to lead the two towards the place.

The crowd in the bar had settled down by now and returned to more peaceful conversations. So when the door opened and three strangers walked in, everyone turned to look.

Van, Fiona and Tom stopped and gazed at the staring locals.

"…………,"

"……….,"

"…………."

"Well,…..um, h-hi," said Van, putting on a brave smile.

"……….,"

"Uh, we were wondering if-"

"Yal tha Guardian Force?" asked one of the villagers, a curious frown on his face.

"U-um, well of cours-"

"Yes, we are. Could we talk to someone in charge, please?" queried Thomas, cuttingVan off.

The man pointed over to a table. Seated at it was Torque, who was surveying the newcomers with a look of polite curiosity.

"Thank you," said Fiona, as she and the two 'men' walked over to the booth, well aware of the stares that they were receiving.

Once they were all seated, the locals 'pretended' to return to their previous activities: talking, drinking and laughing. But, of course, all their attentions were focused upon eavesdropping on the four.

"So yal are the Guardian Force, huh? Well, please, have a chair. Ah'm Toris Mallo by the way, but yal can call meh 'Torque'," he said, taking the odd group in.

"It's very nice to meet you Torque. I am Fiona," said the polite Zoidian.

"And I'm Van Flyheight."

"Lt. Thomas Shubaltz at your service."

"Well yal look prity' hungry; let's get ya somethin' to eat ……wait. Isn't there s'posed ta _four _of yal?"

"There are….but he's really more of a _Zoid _than a human; so he decided stay with our other Zoids than come into town," said Fiona.

Torque nodded, slightly surprised at this.

"Huh, well what-ddaya know…….So, about that suppa'."

_1 hour later_

Having thoroughly dinned on all available manners of food, the Guardian Force awaited for an explanation from Torque of what was happening in Ice-gale.

After taking a swing of his beer, he began.

"It all goes back 'bout a year ago, b'fore the mercenaries came…….."

_Two older teens, a boy and a girl, laughed and giggled as they walked along a wooded path, enjoying the scenery. The boy lovingly placed an arm around the girl's waist as they trekked onwards, chatting continually. Suddenly a twig snapped behind them. As they turned towards the source of the disturbance, the girl screamed at what she saw. There proceeded to be a struggling, more screaming, a desperate shout and then……….._

_FLASSSH!_

"At first, weh thought that maybe it was just 'n' angry wild Zoid, attackin' at random. Because who'eva went too far out in that fo'est, didn't come back………"

_A woodsman armed with naught but an axe padded carefully through the woods, on constant alert. A dark shadow drifted over him, stopping him in his tracks. He didn't even have time to scream……_

_FLASHHHH! _

"And then, soon after these 'abductions' started, tha mercs came, attacking farms that were far away from tha colony and terrorizin' travelers on tha roads. They even started ta pester the Trinity colonies, over on Mt. Talis. So naturally, weh started ta think that it was them who were takin' folks; tryin' ta scare us.

"But…" guessed Tom.

"But it turned out it wasn't; an eye witness caught site of several 'somethins' abductin a friend. He said, 'Those were no mercs. No _human _mercenary could move so fast, or be so strong as ta lift a full grown man with one arm'."

_A dark headed man, yelled and shouted as _they_ continued to come at him. He'd tried everything in the book: kicking, punching, clawing, biting and even bitch-slapping. None of that had even phased _themThey_ may look like men, _they_ may talk and walk like men. But…..these _weren't_ men. He continued to valiantly put up a fight, until one came at him from behind and grabbed him, lifting him up on his shoulder. And as a bright light filled his vision, he could only hope that his friend had gotten away. _

_FLAAASH!_

"But then, as if that wasn' bad enuff, they started comin' in our own _homes_."

"Who?" asked Fiona.

"That's tha problem……._we don't know_."

_The prone figure of a little boy rested in bed, sound asleep. A sudden thump in the night started him awake, breathing hard. The noise had been in the room down the hall. Where his sister was. Getting out of bed, he padded barefoot over the cold floor, hugging a stuffed teddy-bear to his pajama covered chest. A earsplitting shriek briefly filled the air, emitting from his sister's bedroom._

"_Sissssi!" cried the child, breaking out into a run. Right as he reached the doorway, a bright light could be seen seeping from around the door's edges._

_FLLLASSSH!_

"An' so, here weh are. Weh called fo' help ta tha Republic and they and tha Empire decided ta send yal."

"Hmmmm," mused Van, rubbing his chin.

"This is most disturbing," lamented Fiona.

"These abductions seem like the most pressing matter. If we can figure out who's doing this and put a stop to them, then we'll be able to move on to the mercenary gang," figured Tom.

"Most of 'em happened far out in the woodland area. Iff'n yal are plannin' tah investigate 'em proper like, then yu'll need a guide. Only problem with that is this: hardly _anyone _is willin' tah go out thar now, their scared stiff," Torque professed sadly.

"You said _hardly _anyone; do you mean that some still do?" asked Van.

"Welllllll,…..Guss lives on up the road, and he's not all that scared of these mountains. In fact, as far as Ah know, he still goes out in that damned forest. But he's already headed on home and it'd take ya nearly a hour to get to his cabin…if ya don't get lost on the way. The road that leads up thar forks off in alotta places, and tha trails hard enough ta see at night as it is."

"Is there anyone else? Anyone at all?"

"Uhhhhhh,……heheheh, yeah. Thar is one guy. A real fanatic when it comes ta these here abductions. But…..tha guy's not all thar in the head if ya know what Ah mean," said Torque, sweatdropping.

"Heh, yeah, I here you. But we can't be very picky about these sorts of things right now if we want to put a stop to all of this," replied Van, smiling slightly.

Torque nodded in agreement before taking a long draught from his ale. When he was finished he continued.

"Al'righ' then. The fella's name is Sikes. He lives just a lil' ways outta town. Ah'll take yal thar the minute Ah finish this beer."

_Twenty minutes and a walk later………._

The four had passed the clearing where their Zoids were, as they had headed out to Sikes'. Zeke had spotted them, and thus decided to come.

So now, the _four_ friends, accompanied by Torque, walked up to the stoop of an old house. Before Van even had the chance to knock, the door burst open, startling the group.

"Daaahh!" "Whoah!" "Eeeek!" "Grrwrrr!" "Shit!"

There in the doorway, stood a chubby man, in his late twenties. A pair of night vision goggles framed his eyes and an odd looking homemade device of some strange purpose was grasped firmly in his pudgy hands, blinking and blipping. His wavy, mud-brown hair had been tossed about from his sudden exit and now lay about his face in an unruly manner.

"ITS HAPPENED! THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE HERE RIGHT NOW!" cried an exuberant Sikes, practically bulldozing them over in a rush to get out the door.

"Whoa, hold on thar, Sikes. What in the blue devil is goin' on? Who's here?" asked Torque, stepping in front of the excited man.

"They are! The abductors! The aliens from another world!" cried the enthusiast, waving his arms for emphasis. The group sweatdropped in varying degrees at this, as he continued,

"I caught it all on tape! I was out for a while, getting some parts for one of my consuls, and as I just came back, I saw that one of my surveillance cameras had recorded a "Flashing"! Right up on the mountainside, about two hours ago! I gotta hurry! If I get there in time I could get some _live footage_!"sqealed the ecstaticman, trying to scuttle his way past the imposing Torque.

"Uhhhh, y-yeah, that's great 'n' all, but….are ya _sure _ya should go up thar now? Ah mean….it's night, Sikes, a-and well, if they are here then what's ta keep'em from takin' ya the minute ya….show …..up….," Torque trailed of, seeing the blank look on the pudgy little mans face.

Catching on, Tom, decided to help Torque keep the crazed fanatic here. They couldn't have their only possible guide getting killed by falling of the mountainside in the middle of the night. Of course, he didn't really think that Sikes had seen anything. There were no such things as aliens.

If only he knew………

"Yeah! You go up there, especially in the dark, they could sneak up on you or…er…something," said Tom.

"Hmmhmmmm…..you know what…..you guys are right! And since they probably know that I'm on to them, it'd be all the more of an excuse for snatching me! I gotta get inside!" declared Sikes, spinning on his heels and grabbing the door handle, oblivious to the pratfalling group behind him.

But then he turned around again, and addressed the friends.

"But wait!…… Who are you people? Do I know you?"

"Sikes," sighed a frustrated Torque,"This here is tha Guardian Force. They've come ta save Ice-gale from tha mercenaries and tha…umm…_'aliens' _"

"OHHhhhHHH. Yeah, _now _I remember hearing about that,"

"I'm sorry, but I'm confused. What are these '_aliens_' that people keep speaking of?" inquired Fiona.

At this, Sikes looked at her funny, his night vision goggles giving him a bug-eyed affect.

"What do mean, 'what are aliens'? How could you not-" he cut himself off, as he emitted a horrified gasp. "Good Eve, _you're_ _one of_ _THEMMM!_!"

Oblivious to the incredulous looks that he was receiving from the other males, Sikes lifted the device in his hands like sword, in an attempt at "warding off" poor Fiona, who was even _more _confused by this strange man's behavior.

"Back! Get back! Don't make me use this! Why are you here? What do want with our people!"

Before Fiona even had a chance to 'answer', Zeke stepped up in front of her, growling at the offending fanatic.

"GGRRwwerRRawwrrrRR!"

Trembling, Sikes dropped the "weapon" leaning back from the angry Organoid.

"Uhhheheheh….," he sweatdropped.

"Zeke knock it off, it's alright, man," said Van, stepping up to intervene.

What followed after Sikes officially pissing off of the protective Organoid, were "simple", but tedious explanations on all parties. Finally, Sikes had agreed that Fiona was indeed, _not_ an alien…..and that he would be the Guardian Force's guide, too. As it turned out, the four friends would also be staying at the man's house. But, let's leave the comrades here for now and go back several hours before.

_1and a half hours ago_

Pebbles skittered about on a worn trail, as a pair of old boots traversed it, kicking up the small stones. Guss slowly walked on up the steep road, his staff tapping along beside him. His wizened mind wandered as he thought about Ice-gale's predicament, trying, in a way, to 'find a light at the end of the tunnel'.

Suddenly he stopped, noticing something.

At the foot of a large hemlock, that stood tall besides the path, was, what looked like a large bundle of bloody, ragged clothes. As he came closer, he realized that someone, was in fact, still wearing them.

"…..Good….Eve……," breathed the stunned man, dropping his staff in shock.

The girl lay curled beneath the shadow of the brooding conifer. She was barely even conscious, her breathing slow and soft, her squinting,violeteyes dimly glowingin the dark.Slowly, she registered the old man coming up behind her andgripped her scarlet sword, however, was too weak to lift it. The ole' veteran saw this, noticing the doubly red weapon. He decided to approach carefully, now knowing that the youthwas armed.

The injured teen tried vanelyto lift her head, but her body revolted even at that small movement, causing her to black out.

On trembling legs, the old man kneeled besides the girl. This kid was in _bad _shape. She would need immediate medical attention. Hell, he was surprised that she was even _alive. _

Scooping her up carefully, Guss began to head up the road, a new urgency to his pace. He'd have broke out into a run right then and there if it hadn't been for his damn leg. It had been injured in an accident while he'd still been in the service of the Guylos Empire, and had given him trouble ever since.

Considering that he was closer to his own home than the colony, he decided to take her the cabin. But in allhis hurry, he'd forgotten his staff…………….

_Meanwhile, on the other side of the mountain._

The Command Wolf scout padded past a rock face, well aware of being watched. As it reached a certain point, it halted, looking off towards a thick cluster of trees. The conifers shook violently, and thus emerged an Iron Kong, it's menacing form rising high above the Wolf.

Thunderously, it pounded over to the smaller Zoid; the pilot hit the intercom as he spoke.

"_Snnnkkkxxtt-'Bout time you got back, Reaver."_

"Yeah, yeah, I hear yah boss,"replied the Wolf pilot, 'Reaver'"Where's the otha's?-

"_-I've got some news your all gonna want to hear." _

"They're comin'; in fact, they should be here any minute," said the pilot of the larger Zoid. He had a long, ragged scar running across his face, from his left eye all the way to the corner of his mouth. It seemed to pulse white every time he spoke, giving him an eerie appearance.

"_Well, can yah tell 'em to hurry up? This is important, Gordo!"_

The Kong growled in unison with its pilot, as he shot back at the intercom.

"The last time I checked-"

"_-I was the one callin' the shots. You got a problem with that, Reaver?"_

Reaver paled at the tone of his boss's voice, quickly shaking his shaggy, red head.

"No! N-No way, man! No problem here-"

"_-I'm just sayin' that this is _big news, _an-"_

"I _get it_, you idiot. No need to piss your pants," said a deadpan Gordo.

Sudden laughter sprang up on the intercom, as a Stealth Viper slithered up from a nearby gorge, snaking its way over to the other Zoids.

_XxXXXxcctttt "Reaver pissing his pants? HaHAHHhhaahahaha!"_

"_Hey! Shut up, Nave, yah asshole! Or I'll give yah a knew mouth to laugh out of, right in yor' jugular!"_

"_Heheheh, YOU? Bring it on, pissypants! Hahahahah! If you think that you could even _touch _me in that trashcan, then you've got another thing comin'!"_

"_NNNnnnnNNNGGHH!"_

_CccxxxXXcctt "Nave, can't you lay off of him for a minute? Eve, you're such an immature little shit," said a new, womanly voice, as a Guysack scurried over to the growing group. _

"_Maybe, but at least I'm a _sexy _immature little shit," retorted the cocky Nave, his Viper swaying its head back and forth._

"_Ugghh, you're hopeless ," the woman pilot said in disgust._

"_Ahhhhh, come on, Talea, you know you'd miss me if I weren't around," said Nave._

"_Heh, yeah. Like a migraine," replied Talea._

"_OoOOooh, OUCH! Jeez, girl that _hurt!_"_

"That's enough. From all of you. Reaver, what's big the news?" asked Gordo, his Iron Kong turning towards the Command Wolf.

"Guy's it's happened. Law enforcement has shown up. And not just some-"

"_-average soldiers, either. The best the Helic Republic and Guylos Empire have to offer: The Guardian Force."_

Talea stared silently her screen. Nave gaped, stunned. Gordo frowned at this news; they all new of the achievements of the Guardian Force. Van Flyheight in particular.

"_What are we going to do boss?" asked Reaver, his voice betraying his worry._

"Reaver, have you heard from that Damien character lately?" asked Talea, "He might be able to help us out, seeing as he got us into this mess."

"_Naw, he said he'd 'check in' on us, but that was supposed to be at least five hours ago."_

"_Something must have happened back at…..well, wherever he's from," said Gordo._

"………_..," _

"……_We're screwed," proclaimed Nave._

"_What's the plan, Gordo?"_

"We keep doing our job," commanded the Iron Kong pilot, his jagged scar tense.

"_But Gordo-"_

"No buts! We were hired to find that damn rock, and that's what we're gonna do! We worked hard enough to keep the locals from strayin' out into those woods, and we're not going to let all of our work go to waste!"

"_I thought it was those freaks that work with Damien that scared the hell out of 'em?"_

"_Yeah…..where'd they take all those people anyways?"_

"That's besides the point, damn it!"

"_Look, whateva' man. You're the boss."_

"That's right, and it'd be best if yal remembered that! Now get to looking, all of you!" Gordo snarled, his Iron Kong rearing up and beating its chest before crashing off into the forest again, in search of the mysterious 'stone'.

"_Well you heard him, let's go!"_

"_Heh, right…a whole lotta good this gonna do. In fact,if we're caught by those frickin' pansies, then I'm blaming it alllllll on Reaver."_

"_Me! What the hell for?"_

"_Because it's funny to make you mad, dumbass."_

"…_.Screw you."_

"_Haahhhaha! Sure, if Talea will help me!"_

"_Go to hell Nave."_

"_Okay."_

And the mercenaries separated in search of the previously mentioned stone, going off in different directions.

_6 hours later_

The twin moons had set, disappearing behind the mountains. A dull, grey light ruled the land.

The early morning haze.

Mist danced about the roots of the ancient pines, as fog hung heavily about their boughs, covering the land in a silver blanket.

Suddenly, the sun peaks its yellow rays over the mountainside, turning the silver fog gold.

…………_..A new day had been born………… _


	3. Icegale 2

Just so yal know, I'm not disin' people who believe in aliens in this chapter. So if anyone reading this happens to believe, then please don't get offended. I am not saying that _all _alien enthusiast are like the one portrayed here.

­­­­­­­­­

Morning had come to the Orosis Mountains, golden and warm. Ice-gale was still. Silent. Like most sleepy little towns early in the morning. And Sikes' old house, where the Guardian Force was staying, was quiet as well.

The four friends were fast asleep in the living room. Quiet in their slumber; _Van_ wasn't even snoring.

Complete silence.

……Boy, was that about to change.

"_GOOOOOODDD MORNINGG GAURDIAN FORCE! THIIIISSS IS YOURRRR WAKE UP CALLLLL!"_

"Nnnnnnnhh……five more minutes….," moaned a half-asleep Van.

"Hrhmmmm?" hummed Tom, barely even awake.

"……grawrrrr-rrrrghhhh," growled a sleepy Zeke, blinking his red optics, trying to clear them of slumber.

"Mmmmmmm……" murmured Fiona.

"_COME ON YOOOUUU FOOOUURRR! UP AND AT'EM! WE GOTTA GET READDYY!"_

Sikes, the local fanatic, was to say the least, very excited. Today was the day that he and the Guardian Force were going up on the mountain to the site of the supposed 'Flashing'. And he wanted to set off bright and early. So he decided that the best way to wake the four…….was to scream his lungs out into a bigass megaphone.

"Alright, we're awake…. We're AWAKE!" cried Van over the din.

"_WELLL ABOUT TIME," _said Sikes, still talking into the megaphone. Realizing this, he brought it away from his mouth. "We got _lots_ of stuff to pack before headin out!"

"Stuff? What stuff? All of our equipment is in the Zoids," said Tom.

"Well duh! I'm talking about all MY stuff! The contacter, the mobile tracker, the…."

And the list went on.

And on.

_And on….._

The four sweatdropped as the fanatic named off all of his devices, each one more radical than the last.

"AND I think that just about covers everything…Yup, that's all. So guys, MOVE'EM OUT!" said the pudgy fellow, pointing his fat finger.

_40 minutes later…._

Having loaded down the Liger and the Dibison with all the odd inventions that 'every good alien fanatic should have', the Guardian Force and company set off up the mountainside, following the road. The only reason the pilots had even agreed to this, was that Sikes would not come without his stuff. And, since they needed him as their guide, their only option was to go along with it. And so, Sikes was now riding in the back of the Liger with Fiona, practically bouncing in anticipation.

Van was not thrilled about this in the least, and had seriously considered stuffing him in the small cargo hold beneath the blade-liger. Since Fiona would not stand for that, the only option had been to let Sikes ride along.

So, as the Zoids treaded on, Sikes decided to fill the silence with his explanation of what a 'Flashing' was.

"You see, my theory is that a 'Flashing' is when the extraterrestrials arrive on the planet, after being beamed down onto Zi from the mother ship! The flash that follows is just the spare light particles that got caught and scatter when they are released from "the teleportation gravity", which keeps every thing together when in transition! That way, the 'otherworlders' are kept in one piece, instead of like, just their arm or something being beamed to the surface! And I've been seeing these 'Flashes' multiple times; I've got a lot on tape, too, to prove it! And all of them happened right before an abduction!"

"Look, that's great and all, but could you give me directions instead of talking about aliens and their 'telefarters' or whatever it is you called it?" asked an irritable Van. He was starting to regret not putting Sikes in that cargo hold, as he had previously planned; though, for different reasons…….

"What, you don't believe in aliens? Who else could _possibly _have the technology to abduct over two dozen people, with hardly to no eye witnesses?" asked Sikes, smirking slightly. To him, people who didn't believe in aliens where ignorant and blind. Much like what some people thought about those who did.

"Look I don't care _who's _abducting the people! I just care about stopping them! So they could be aliens, boogeymen, or chubby, pink, space-ninja chinchillas for all I care!"

"Van! You _should_ care about those people! Who knows what horrible things are happening to them right now, wherever they are!" cried Fiona.

"Whuh? Ohhhh, that's not what I meant!" he sighed in exasperation.

"Heheheheh," the pudgy fanatic snickered.

"I don't need this right this now, I already have to put up with Lt. 'Showoff' as it is."

_Snxxxxkkt "Hey!"_

"Hahahaaahhaaha!"

"_You_! You shut up!"

"Aye, Captain!" 'saluted' Sikes.

"………I can't _believe _I skipped breakfast for this."

" Where do we turn, Sikes?" asked Fiona.

"We were supposed to turn back there."

"What? Why the hell didn't you tell me damn it!" growled Van.

"Because……you told me to shut up."

"RrrrrggGGHHHH!"

_Farther up the road, at Guss' cabin……….._

SSSsssSSSSSSSSsss

Ham sizzled and popped in the frying pan, sending a delicious scent wafting about the house.

"………..,"

Guss stood at his stove, casually cooking breakfast. And….lying on the couch in the living room, was Angela, still unconscious. He had managed to dress her wounds well enough, having stopped the bleeding of her more serious injuries first. Ever since then, he had kept a close eye on the teen, checking her vital signs every so often.

He began to hum to himself, as he cracked open an egg or two for frying, and sliced papaya on a cutting board.

"Hhmmm-hmmm-hmm….Hmmm-hm-hm-hmmmhmm….."

Setting down his kitchen knife, the old man went to his refrigerator, to get some milk. Shutting it, he started to turn back to his stove, milk carton in hand…..but stopped.

………And stared into a pair of glowing, _violet_ eyes…….

Sitting up on the sofa, in seemingly perfect health, the teen sat watching him, her eyes shining in the dimly lit room. Purple eyes aside, what shocked Guss the most, was the fact the girl was even capable of holding herself up after sustaining such wounds. But after getting past his surprise, the old veteran smiled warmly, his wrinkled face lighting up cheerfully.

"Well good mornin'! It's nice to see that you're feeling better. And just in time for breakfast, too!" he said, lifting the milk carton for emphasis.

The teen didn't say anything in response to this, only listened, confused by the warmth in the stranger's voice. Or…..at least she _thought _he was stranger………damn, only she could _remember_……

If her silence disturbed him, the old man didn't let it show, as he promptly returned to his chore: makin' breakfast. He talked the entire time, telling her his name, where they were, where they were _was, _what he was making for breakfast………that sort of thing. Small talk.

…..And….as she listened…..a very small smile started to form on her lips….

_Back to the G.F._

"_Okay, Beek says that the….er….ahem…'flash' occurred up ahead, about a hundred or so meters."_

"Thank you, Tom," said Fiona.

"_You're very welcome Miss Fiona. In fact-"_

"Yeah, yeah, Tom, I think she gets the picture already," interrupted Van.

"Picture? What do you mean? I did not get a picture."

"…………,"

"…..Are you _sure _she's not an alien? Seriously, I could run some tests……"

"……………,"

"………OH, um, were here!"

_5 minutes later……_

The four, plus one, were finally walking over to the indicated area. The hold up had been caused by a certain, infamous fanatic who as now wearing a ridiculous looking helmet covered in tin foil and had a triangular antenna, which was actually a metal close-hanger glued on upside down. He was clutching in his hand the device from the previous night, the one that he had used to "threaten" Fiona.

"Okay, remember, in case we see anything, then whatever you do DON'T look it in the eyes unless you want to be mind-controlled, and stay out of range of it's………." Sikes continued to babble on, claiming that all kinds of calamities would befall them if they did this, or didn't do that.

The friends ignored the radical enthusiast, as they approached the site.

Buy suddenly, Fiona stopped, holding her nose.

"There…is a very unfriendly smell to this air…."

"What do you mean, Miss Fiona."

"Yeah, I don't smell anything."

"WHAT IS IT! May it's the alien-mmmffff!" Van clamped a hand over the fanatic's mouth, watching Zeke.

The Organoid was sniffing the air, a worried growl coming from his throat.

"What's wrong, buddy?" asked his partner.

"Zeke, you smell it too, don't you?" asked Fiona, her hand covering the bridge of her nose.

The Organoid nodded and whined in response, walking forward.

…..Towards a familiar hemlock…….

The pooledin an areabeneath the shadow of the mighty tree, blood stained the needles a vicious red color. And nearby………was Guss' staff….the one he'd forgotten.

As the group came upon the site, there was a mutual shock at the scene.

"Oh dear…..,"murmured Fiona, pressing her hand over her mouth.

"Hrrrp! Igonnabesic!" repressed Sikes, as he ran into the surrounding forest to hurl, horrified at the sight of blood. He got nasea very easily...

"….This…isn't good...," said a solemn Thomas, as kneeled to pick up the dropped staff.

"No kidding," said Van, taking in the scene.

By now, Sikes had returned, looking rather green in the face. Seeing the staff in Tom's had, though, and he quickly forgot his illness.

"Hey! That's Guss' staff!"

"Who?" "Who's Guss?" "Rrggghrwrar?" "Huh? Whose staff?"

Sikes went into a quick explanation of who the old veteran was, and proclaimed that to be the staff he always used, because of his leg.

"If this is his staff,….then……." Van trailed off, looking at the bloodied conifer needles.

The five of them began to investigate, looking for a body. There was none.

"Hey, there's a pair of footprints coming in, and then leading away from the site.Their deeper leading away, like the person was carrying something when they left," said Van.

"Or someone...," tossed in Tom.

"And their uneven, like the person walking had a bit of a limp," said Van, pointing at the prints.

"Then...this wasn't an abduction?"asked Fiona.

They began to discuss thestrange situation, when Zeke spotted a butterfly fluttering nearby. As it began to fly away, the curious Organoid followed after it. His human compatriots did not notice his leaving.

Deeper into the woods he trotted, playfully snapping at the colorful insect. Suddenly it veered into a dim clearing, and zipped upwards through the branches, beyond his reach.

Whining unhappily, Zeke prepared to head back to the site, when something caught his eye.

Erected in the middle of the dark clearing, was what looked to be an obelisk, standing about nine feet high. Its surface seemed to be of an almost liquid texture, for while it was mainly a deep, bluish black, a glaze of colors shimmered across its surface.

"…………,"

Cautiously, the Organoid padded up to it, muzzle extended. Closer up, one could see that the shimmering affect was caused by the words written upon the strange stone, where rivers of iridescent color pulsed across them every other second.

Reaching out, Zeke pressed his muzzle to the stone, and watched as the rivers of colors immediately changed course, and flowed up and away from the contact. As he pulled away, a small voltage of purple electricity exchanged between Organoid and obelisk for a fraction of a second.

Seemingly satisfied by this, he turned away, and began to return to his friends……leaving the mysterious stone behind, where the current of color returned to its normal path of flow…….except, it was slightly different. The frequency of its pulse was much quicker. At a distance, instead of shimmering, it seemed to _glow _the pulse was so fast.

………_.It was as if….. it was anticipating something……………_

Back at Ice-gale, the people went about their daily routines and chores. Women bustled about their homes, sweeping, cooking, and cleaning, while every so often scolding a disobedient child. The men were off chopping and hauling wood, doing yard work, working in the fields…….that sort of thing. And speaking of fields………..

Two little children, who's names were Ethan and Cally, a brother and sister, continued their game of tag, giggling and laughing all the while. They ran amok in the fields, through the rows of wheat and corn, completely caught up in their play, oblivious to how far their game had taken them from home.

Suddenly Cally stopped, looking into the forest nearby. From where she stood, she could see the glimmer of a metallic red form through the branches.

Ethan ran up behind her, giggling, "Gotcha, Cally! Your it!" He tagged her on the shoulder and prepared to run away, until he noticed what she was looking at…

"Whooaahhhhh, whadya think it is?" he asked.

"I-I dunno…..let's go check it out!" she declared excitedly.

"Race ya!"

"Ha, you're on!"

The siblings raced over to the forest's edge, and disappeared into its foliage. As they approached the object of interest, the two stopped in their tracks………..

An enormous dinosaur-like Zoid stood before them, red and menacing. _A very familiar red Zoid……….._

_A pair of electric blue eyes watched the children from up high in the trees. _

"Oh wow! Check it out, Ethan! Do you think it's one of the Guardian Force's Zoids?"

"N-no, I saw 'em go on up the road early this mornin'. Cally,….we shouldn't be here….'specially in the woods an' all. You know about all the disapearin's."

"Awwww, c'mon, Ethan. Don't be a chicken!" scolded the little girl, as she walked closer to the large Zoid, causing her brother to follow after her.

As the two skirted around the Zoid, they could see a campfire near its feet.

But a sudden growling stopped the siblings in their tracks, as a form leaped down from the trees, snarling.

"Aawrraauwwrrrr-rghrawwwwrrrrrrggg!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" "Eeeeeeeppp!"

The two children took off like bats outta hell, running as fast as their legs would take them. As they cleared the woods, they ran even faster, crying their little hearts out and sobbing for their mother as they headed for the colony, causing all sorts of ruckus.

And, standing where the siblings had fled from……was Shadow, glaring at their retreating forms.

"Hmm. We better get moving, Shadow," said a voice from behind the black Organoid.

Shadow turned to look at the speaker.

Raven stood at the foot of the Geno Breaker, as he looked off in the direction where the children had fled. Those kids would alert the entire colony to their presence now, and since he didn't like to draw extra attention, it'd be best to head out.

The Organoid nodded in agreement, his metallic growl grating the late morning air.

In a heartbeat, Raven was in the cockpit of his Zoid, professionally steering it around the enormous trees.

In truth, after his adventures when the Guardian Force was just starting out, he had had a change of heart. His hatred for Zoids had practically dissipated, mainly because he'd finally avenged the deaths of his parents, by helping to destroy Hiltz and Ambient. Should he go into battle right then and there, he not only _wouldn't _obliterate his opponent, he simply _couldn't_. He just…..couldn't do it anymore. He had lost that cruel edge.

And he also recognized Shadow as a friend and partner instead of a servant. Over the months following Zoid Eve, their bond had grown thicker and thicker. Now, he was _no _softie. He was still an official badass, through and through. And he still had most of his angst and attitude….but he just couldn't kill anymore.

His reasons for not wanting attention from the villagers were simple: he still wasn't a people person. And even after hearing that the Guardian Force was in town, he was still ready to continue his search of the area. His hate for Zoids wasn't the only thing that had disappeared. His hate for Van had as well. After the battle with the Death Saurer, the two enemies had called an end to their rivalry. They weren't exactly friends, per say, just no longer opponents.

In fact, the President and the Emperor had dropped all his charges for his aiding in the defeat of the Death Saurer, and had extended him an offer to join the Guardian Force. He'd decided to think on. And six months later, he still was. But the delay was caused mainly by his investigation of the disappearances……of Ryss and her sapphire Organoid, Specula.

It wasn't out of deep personal feelings. He was simply concerned for a friend. Five months ago, Ryss had left him a letter in her hotel room, saying that she and Specula were off to investigate something and would return in two weeks.

_They hadn't._

And so here he was, piloting his Zoid through a forbidden forest.

He hadn't been able to find out much about the disappearance of the mysterious pair, and what he had, had led him here. To Ice-gale. But he was determined as hell to find out……….

"……….,"

'_Meanwhile, back at the ranch'…………._

"And so you see, Zoids are not only used in combat, but also transportation and multiple other things as well," finished Guss.

It seemed that all he'd been doing since breakfast was answer questions. And the funny thing was, was that the girl didn't ask very many at all. In fact, she'd hardly said a thing. He was the one who'd done most of the talking. And he was still shocked that the teen had literally healed herselfwithin the space of seven hours. It was obvious that she was more than human; but, in all honesty, he didn't really care about that.

She sat across from Guss, cupping her hands around a mug of hot-chocolate that was setting on the table. She nodded her head as she looked at her drink, taking in what he had said.

Guss had mainly explained what Zoids were during their 'conversation', mostly because they didn't ring any bells for her when it came to remembering things. She new what everything else was, pretty much: household appliances, trees, furniture, food, etc. But when it came to Zoids……her mind was completely blank.

Guss watched her reaction, trying to think of something else to say. And then, he had it.

"Do you remember your name?"

She looked up, violet eyes blinking.

"…….Name?….."

"Yes, like, what other people address you as?"

After a second, she shook her head, at a loss.

"Well that means we're gonna have to think of something now, don't it?" the old man smiled, setting his coffee down on the table.

"Let's see…..how about Ally?"

The youth considered it, before shaking her head.

"No? Okay then,…….what about….."

And he went off on a long list of names, none of which she seemed to take a liking to,…..until….

"Hmmmmm,………Larka?"

"…………okay….."

"Well if not that, then……wait a second…'okay'?"

She nodded, smiling slightly.

"Well, allrighty then," said Guss, chuckling.

Suddenly, the newly dubbed 'Larka', tensed, sensing something. And looked up through the window at the overhang high above the cabin.

_Someone was watching them….._

High up on an overlook, stood Ryss, binoculars held to her eyes as she watched the two, noticing as the teen below her turned to look up directly at her location.

"There you are, Angela," she murmured to herself.

Besides her, swishing her tail back and forth, was Specula, her exotic head cocked slightly as she watched her partner. Suddenly, the Organoid lifted her head towards the west, growling.

"…….I sense it too, Specula," said Ryss, lowering her binoculars as she looked off in the same direction.

"………….,"

"……._He's back_……"

_On the western slopes…………._

A Stealth Viper slithered its way between a pair of enormous boulders, hissing occasionally.

Nearby, a Command Wolf leapt over a stream, as it headed in the same direction.

"Shhrrreeeiiiiii!" cried a Guysack, as it clawed its way out of a self-dug tunnel, throwing dirt everywhere.

A couple of clouds of the stuff were flung at the passing Wolf, covering it head to tail in a fine layer of dust.

"_Talea! C'mon, watch it will yah?"_ pleaded Reaver, as the Zoid shook itself clean of the debris.

"_Hehheheh, sorry Reaver, I didn't see you there."_

"_Yeah, yeah, I hear you…."_

"_Hey love birds, chop-chop already! Let's go! Gordo's waitin' for us, and I _know _you two don't need reminding about how bitchy he gets when he has to wait for long."_

"_Wow Nave, what's got you all worked up? Trying to be on time. Damn, I didn't even think that was possible."_

"_Screw off, Reaver!"_

"_See? You dish it out, but you can't ever take it! Seriously though, what's your problem? Is it that time of month again?"_

"_I thought I told you to-"_

"_Hey! Both you shut up! I'm getting a transmission from that Damien guy."_

The pilots reined in their Zoids around the Guysack,……waiting.

_SSNNKKKTtttttxxxxttttt "Blood Reapers. How goes the search?" asked the man on the screen. He had a pair of cold, green eyes, and short, dark brown hair. _

"_Um, well we're still looking, sir. We're hoping to come up with something soon, but so far-"_

"_I understand. But I want you to put a temporary halt on your search."_

"_A halt? But……why?"_

"_I have…..a side job for you four to perform. Someone came through one of our portals….here, to Zi. They are a….problem…to our people here, as well as in our other area of operation. We need you to put an end to them."_

"_You mean kill them?"_

"…_..It is necessary, yes." _

"…_..R-right…well, what does Gordo say?"_

"_I have already spoken with him. And he has said to give you the go ahead."_

"_Nnnnnnn…..I don't know about this." "Yeah! Why can't he tell us himself!"_

"………_..,"_

"_I…have sent him on another mission."_

"_Where?"_

"_That information cannot be released to you."_

"_Hmmph. Right, well, where are we supposed to find this mystery person, anyhow?"_

"_Simple. There's a small cabin to the east of here, about ten miles. Go there, and you will find her. But do NOT confront her inperson. Simply use your Zoids to destroy the cabin at a distance. You….._should_ be safe, so long as you stay in those machines of yours."_

"_And what do you mean by that!"_

"_I meant exactly what I said. Damien out." _And with that, the screen went black.

"_Huh. Jerk. Well yal…… let's hop to it."_

"_Whatever, Talea. I don't like what that guy said 'bout 'staying in our Zoids and we_ should _be safe' one bit."_

"_It'll be a piece of cake, Reaver. Hey Nave, you still alive over there? You haven't hardly said a word."_

"…_..Somethin doesn't feel right about all this. Really, somethin's up with that Damien fellow."_

"_I'm sure its nothing. C'mon. Let's go get this over with." _And the three headed out, their Zoids making their way east.

On a distant cliff, watching all of this, stood the man. Damien. Smirking slightly, he turned to the hogged tied Gordo, whose scar was white with rage. Surrounding him were _the others, _drooling and grinning.

"Sorry Gordo. But your just too smart for your own damn good," chuckled the arrogant man, looking the mercenary in the eye.

"But don't worry; the second your 'friends' get rid of the little thorn in our side and find the Obelisk, they'll be joining you."

"YOU LYING SON OF BITCH!" yelled Gordo, thrashing in his bonds. _The others _growled and hissed at him, their eyes bulging angrily.

"Now, now. Theirs no need for cussing," smirked Damien. Gesturing to _the others_, he said, "Take him."

Grinning like the lunatics _they_ were, _they _gathered around him and hoisted him up, ignoring his cursing and struggling. One of _them _lifted a device in _his_ hand and entered some sort of coordinates before disappearing in a familiar flash.

_FLAAASSHHH!_

Damien continued to look off over the landscape, his hands folded behind him.

"…..May god have mercy on your soul, Angela of Earth," he said to himself, a smug look on his face. Considering what he had just said, the man started to laugh as if he had just heard the funniest joke ever.

" Hehehehehaahhaahahahahaahahahaaaahahaa-HAAHAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAaaaaaaah!" and with that, he lifted a device similar to _the other's,_ before disappearing in a flash himself.

_FLLLLAAAAASSSSHHH!_

_And……..the sun sets in the west, ending the day. _

………_..Bring on the night……….._


	4. Icegale 3

The sky over Ice-gale had turned dark once more, and the stars were slowly appearing, like diamonds on black velvet.

Fiona looked up at the spectacular sight, smiling……..

"………….,"

"Fiona……..Fiona?"

The ancient Zoidian turned to the speaker, Van.

"Yes?"

Three hours previous…… 

They had spent the morning and afternoon analyzing the blood that they had found at the site, using some of Sikes equipment and Beek. The results had been…….unexpected. In fact, Sikes had had a fit when he first saw the feedback on the computer screen.

"Hey! Guys! The results are in! C'mere!" called Thomas, looking at the data that Beek had sent him.

As the others gathered around, Sikes squealed excitedly at what he saw, scaring the living hell out of everyone else.

"YYYESSSS! I knew it! _I _knew it! Guss must have killed an alien and _taken_ it back home with him! Or something like that……oh it doesn't matter! WE HAVE _REAL _ALIEN BLOOD! Oh yeah!" the fanatic continued to rant on in a corny manner, as Thomas took a closer look at the sample.

"I hate to burst your bubble, but……this isn't exactly what you'd call the blood of an extraterrestrial….."

Sikes stopped his victorious babbling to look up at the lieutenant.

"Nyeh?" he gibbered.

Tom began to explain, saying how the sample showed some rather strange traits and alterations, but it was human……for the most part. At this, Sikes had practically deflated, disappointed beyond belief. And Van had almost felt sorry for the annoying fanatic. _Almost_….

After they had gotten the results from the AI it had been late in the afternoon, the sun setting once more behind the mountain peaks. Van and Thomas discussed the matter, before deciding that after the group packed up the gear that they should head up to Guss' place, which Sikes had said was only a little ways from there.

_Returning to the present…….._

"C'mon, we're heading out now…….,"

"……..I'm coming," Fiona said, after hesitating for a fraction of a second. She walked past him as she headed towards the Zoids.

Van raised an eyebrow at his friend's curious behavior, but not much more. He had grown used to the Zoidian's peculiar ways.

Shaking his head, he followed after her, Zeke joining the two as he trotted up from a nearby gully that he had been exploring.

As the Blade-Liger and the Dibison headed up the slope, the white Organoid stopped and looked over his shoulder in the direction of the Obelisk, his red eyes reflecting the starlight.

"……..grawwwrrrr….."

Skkktttxxt! _"Hey Zeke! C'mon buddy, let's go!" _called Van over the intercom.

Snorting, the Organoid turned and trotted after his friends…………never looking back…..

At Guss'……… 

The old man walked with uneven steps towards the back of his yard, Larka trailing after him.

"……….Where are we going?" she asked, taking her violet eyes off her surroundings to look at Guss, as he glanced back at her, grinning toothily.

"About fifty years back, a war was waging between the Guylos Empire and the Helic Republic. I was a young and restless little punk then, and I wanted to be a Zoid pilot more than anything else, like most kids my age. So when I was old enough, I up and joined the Empire in their fight. What happened in the war is history,……but I still have my Zoid. A Helcat."

Interested, Larka fixed her full attention on the veteran as he continued on, a twinkle in his eyes.

"We were one of the best pairs in our battalion, too."

Flashback

_A group of Zaber Fangs and Helcats battled viciously against a horde of sleeper Zoids, Guysacks to be exact._

_A young man with dusty brown hair and blue eyes piloted a pure black Helcat past a horde of the sleepers, firing its Anti-Zoid 20mm multiple times at the attackers. _

_Three of the Guysacks exploded in fire, crying out as they burned and collapsed. _

"_SHHREIIIII!" "Shrac-Shrriiii!" "SHRrrIIIIEEE!"_

_The man whooped excitedly, his Helcat roaring._

"_RRWAAAAWWWWWRRRR!"_

……_..Only for them to be swarmed by the rest of the sleepers._

_The two sweatdropped………._

_But then continued their ruthless massacre alongside their comrades, determined to annihilate every one of the Guysacks._

"We were often sent to wipe out any sleepers or bases that stood in the way of the advancement of the troops. So, after a while, the Republic sent out data to all their Zoids, piloted and sleepers alike, so that they would recognize the signal of any Saber Fang or Helcat in the Wrath Cats Battalion, which was, heheheh, our _name_."

_A Republican soldier sprinted down the halls of his base, panting. Veering off to the left, he ran as hard as he could down another hall 'til he came to a door. He burst in, and hurriedly stood at attention before his commanding officer. When he spoke, his voice was shaky as he was still trying to catch his breath._

"_S-SIR! Our(pant)-scouts have picked(pantpant)-up several dozen enemy Z-Zoid signals, heading straight at us, and th-they'll be here any minute!"_

"_Have we identified them?"_

"……_Yes….yes, sir, we have…"_

"…_.Well? Who is it this time? Colonel Shafton's Platoon maybe?"_

"…_It-it's the Wrath Cat Battalion, sir……."_

"…………_..,"_

"_What are your orders, sir?"_

"……_..To fight……and to pray……"_

"…………_.,"_

"Our battalion quickly became one of the most elite groups that the Empire had to offer. Pretty soon, even the mention of our name struck fear into heart of every Republican soldier. And half the time, us just showing up could end a skirmish, the sight of our Zoids scaring the hell out of the opposition. But some of the orders that we had to carry out……well, I'm not all that proud of them.

_The same blue eyed man, only slightly older, stood on a cliff above a village………a village that was on _fire. _He sighed sadly, not noticing his Helcat lowering its large head near him as they listened to the cries of the villagers. _

"_Raawwwrrrrr-wrrrrggh."_

_The man turned to see his Zoid's head right behind him, its black cockpit reflecting the fires. _

"…_.It's not right……is it, Hel?" he asked, his voice regretful._

_Just then, a red and yellow Zaber Fang trotted up to the partners, a voice emitting from its intercom._

_SNNkKxxXXtkk _"Guss! Major Wilson sent me to get you; we're movin' out!"

"……_.Got it………..…Let's go!" commanded the younger version of Guss, jumping into his Zoids cockpit. _

_The two Cat Zoids began to run towards the rest of the battalion, but even then Guss turned his Zoid slightly, to take one last look at the cremated little town._

"…………_.,"_

_Only to run faster, away from the destruction that he had helped create._

_End Flashbacks_

"After the war ended, the Emperor allowed me to keep my Zoid, as a sort of compensation for being injured in the line 'a duty, I suppose. _Anyways_, right up here, is my own, _personal_ little hanger that I had built with some of my paychecks," finished Guss, smiling.

The two had continued walking as he had talked, and now stood before a tiny, concrete shed, with only one door. The old man whipped out a key to this door, which opened up to reveal a long flight of stairs that led down into the earth.

The veteran led the way, still smiling.

"It's pretty dark, so watch your step."

Larka looked down before her, purposely dilating her violet eyes, to the point that she had no problem seeing at all. She didn't really even know how she did it. She just ….did it…..

Her silky, black hair fell about her face gently as she continued to look down, having previously been washed of all the grime that it had been coated in. Though…….she didn't actually know _why _it had been so bloody and nasty beforehand…..she only knew that it had taken her an eternity to wash it out.

Quietly, she followed after the old man, their footsteps echoing. When they reached the bottom, Guss began to look for the power switch, muttering to himself.

"Now where is it," he said, running his hand along the wall.

"……….,"

"……Aha! There you are!"

CH-TUNG!

The lights came on above them as the power came on, and the generator could be heard whirring to life in the background.

Smiling, he looked over at the teen, who was staring across the small cavern at the black Helcat that stood there.

"………..,"

"……Pretty cool, huh?"

"………..,"

The old man began to chuckle before limping forwards, beckoning her to follow him.

As they walked over to the Panther, he explained how the Wrath Cats had always customized their Zoids. His Zoid, known as 'Hel', had been fitted with hardened alloy Strike Claws, an unusual feature for Helcats. Also, it had some 'damn good boosters', according to Guss, along with a Anti-Zoid 20mm, a Anti-Zoid 3 barreled Shock Cannon, a Double Barreled beam cannon, two E-sheild generators and a 'cloaking' device, with which the Zoid could turn completely invisible, etc.

As they approached, Hel turned its head to look at them, a friendly, metallic purr generating from deep inside its core.

"Well hey there, big guy," said Guss, patting the Zoids front leg affectionately.

Larka stood next to Guss, awed at the size of the black Zoid, her sword hanging listlessly at her side, as if knowing that it wouldn't stand a chance against such a large opponent. And Guss had said that most Zoids _much _bigger than Helcats………

Now why she would even consider getting in fight with something, she didn't know. Earlier, Guss had given back her scarlet weapon, and when she had taken it from his hand, it had felt so _natural, _as if it were an extension of her arm. She had twirled it experimentally, and her movements had flowed like water. It was……frightening really, because the red sword had been coated in a layer of dried, black blood……..Whose blood, she couldn't say……….she couldn't remember……..

Out of curiosity, the Helcat lowered its head, 'looking' at the newcomer.

"………….,"

"…………,"

Guss just smiled as the youth reached her hand up and placed it on Hel's 'muzzle', the Panther deepening its funny little purr.

And……….she smiled too…………

"Well, I've got some stuff to work on back at the house, so you can fool around in here if you want."

Larka nodded absentmindedly, still stroking the Helcat. Not sure if she was even listening, Guss told her where everything was, including the hanger exit/entrance where both she and the Zoid could exit if something happened.

Turning, he headed back to the stairwell, leaving the two new friends behind. He glanced back one last time.

"………….,"

Sensing a foreboding something, but not sure what, Larka looked up as well.

The two watched each other for awhile before Guss headed out.

But Larka continued to watch, her mind reaching out instinctively to the old man, to let him know something _bad_ was about to happen. This sensation startled her though; the vast feeling that she received from letting the boundaries her psyche just drop and start to explore the minds of those surrounding her. She hadn't even known she could do that………

By the time she collected her wits, Guss was long gone. However, the foreboding feeling was anything but, and it spurred her into action.

And as she ran after him, she pushed to the very back of her mind something that had also startled her,……..the Helcat had a conscious mind as well.

_Meanwhile……….._

The stars over the Orosis Mountains had completely come out, unhindered by light pollution or smog. The moons had yet to rise, so one could clearly see the beautiful night sky. The Milky Way at its finest……..

In the grass of an open field, Raven lay on his back, looking up in wonder.

"………..,"

Ever since he had regained his memory, looking at the stars made him think of his parents and tonight was no exception, as he thought back to that fateful night. But……the bitterness that he had subconsciously associated that night with was gone. Avenged. The past could finally rest.

But……he couldn't help but feel like……something was missing.

Asides from Ryss.

In the month after Zoid Eve, she had become his friend. Almost like a sister even. And though she could have up and walked away any time she wanted, knowing that Raven wouldn't have stopped her……she hadn't. Until she mysteriously disappeared.

If he found her and she didn't want to come back, Raven would understand. It wouldn't upset him in the least, for freedom of decision was a precious thing, as he had come to realize.

Ryss could do as she pleased.

He was just worried, for it wasn't like her to do something like this. To run off, leaving a note that said she'd be back in two weeks,………and yet not show her face _anywhere _for five months. But if it did turn out to be nothing, then he knew she'd never stop teasing him about giving a damn about her.

No……..it wasn't Ryss.

But if it wasn't Ryss……..then what _could_ it be………………

_Two miles east of Guss' cabin…………._

A Command Wolf, Guysack, and Stealth Viper creep along the rocky base of a steep cliff, heading covertly towards the little cabin.

Nearly there, the mercs stopped, preparing themselves to do the task.

_SKKKKkkkt "Guys, I've got a baaaaaad feelin' 'bout this."_

_Snnkkkhhhxt "Oh what's the matter Reaver? You're not going to piss your pants again are you?….Skkt-Hahahahahahaha!"_

_Sxxxxkkk "Shut the hell up Nave! I'm not in the mood!"_

_KKKttttt "Hey! Nave quit being such a jackass already! You're the only one that thinks your jokes are funny!"_

"_Jeez, Talia, don't get your panties in a twist. I'm just trying to lighten the mood."_

"_Whatever, let's just get this over with………who's gonna fire the shot?"_

"………………"

"………_I'll do it, I could go for some target practice. 'Sides, I'm the only one here with missiles anyways, heheheh."_

"_Alright then, Nave….."_

"_Fire away, man."_

_Back at the cabin……….._

Guss came out of the forest, heading towards the house. A gentle smile was on the old man's weathered face as he limped along.

A long time ago, he had been a father and a husband. But Fate had taken that away from him, leaving him with nothing………

But perhaps, this was Fate's way of giving him another shot. He knew he had never been much of a father to _Miyah_. Maybe this was his second chance……

As he walked up the porch steps, a familiar noise reached his ears…..

……and it'd be the last one he'd ever hear………

BOOM!

_SHHHWWIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!_

_CRRRAAA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooMMM!_

The cabin exploded in a burst of flaming wrath, engulfing in fire and smoke….

Larka ran at a furious pace out of the forest, just in time to see the house go up in flames.

"……….!"

As she sprinted towards the obliterated cabin, Nave let out a curse.

"_SHIT! I can see the girl on screen! She wasn't in the damn house!"_

"……………_,"_

"_Then just fire again."_

"_I can't! Seems that that was the only missile I had left, and she's to small a target for _any_ of us to snipe from way out here. We'd haft to get closer…."_

"_No prob. Damien said_ _we'd be fine as long as we stay inside our Zoids. And since there's no point in gettin out, I don't think she'll be catchin' us on the ground."_

"_Eh…..You're right. C'mon."_

Meanwhile, coming up the road, the Guardian Force stopped short at the sight of the explosion.

"WHOAH!"

"Damn, look at that!"

"Oh boy…."

"Oh my goodness, I nobody was in that!"

"Ewwrrrrrrrrrr."

"Yeah you said it, Zeke…."

"……………,"

"Looks like someone got to Guss before we did…….."

"Ah shit….You don't think……"

"It was the GOVERNMENT! They're trying to cover it all UP!"

"Sikes, for Eve's sake, shut it!"

"YOU CAN'T REPRESS THE TRUTH! Eventually-"

"Look!" cried Fiona, interrupting Sikes rant, as she pointed at a figure kneeling in shock before the cabin.

"…..Who is that?"

"I don't know. Bring 'em up on screen."

As the image enlarged on their screens, the group grew even more confused, for this was someone that even Sikes hadn't seen before.

"It ain't Guss, that's for sure."

"…………"

"……….."

"Then,….who hell is it?"

"WHO ELSE could it BE? It's the mutant, non-alien…um, THING! Who looks, at this distance, pretty hot! But that is besides the point! Sort of……..Damn she's hot!"

The others sweatdropped at this comment, but couldn't reply. Because for once, Sikes had it right……..

On her knees before the inferno, was Larka, her scabbard attached at her hip. Her long, black hair draped gracefully about her face and down her back. She was dressed in some clothes that Guss had given her, that had, at one point, belonged to his own daughter, Miyah. She wore a dark, brick red tank-top, and some custom black fatigues. A delicate, but strong silver chain was cinched around her waist as a belt. But that was pretty much it.

The Guardians and co., after getting past the initial surprise, advanced their Zoids towards the teen in question, cautiously. She however, took notice of them, being too occupied with staring solemnly at the blazing ruin. But before they could reach the distraught teen, Van noticed a 'bigger' problem.

"Guys, we got company."

And indeed, they did. For coming out of the distant treeline came a small group of Zoids. Who were, in fact, what was left of the Blood Reaper mercenary gang.

_Back when the explosion went off………_

_BOOO-oooo-ooo-ooommmm! _

_KRA-BOOOOO-oooo-ooooo-oooommmmmm!_

The distant echo of cannon fire reached Raven's ears as he lay on his back, resting his eyes.

"Hmmm?" He opened his eyes and looked off towards the source of the disturbance.

A small, but fiery mushroom cloud expanded over a select area on the mountainside in the distance, marking the spot with its glow.

Raven stared for a while, thinking too himself.

'_Hmmmmmm, cannon fire?……I guess that makes sense, considering that the Guardian Force is in town. Heh, I bet that mercenary gang I keep hearing about is stupid enough to try to pick a fight with them, too. Heheheheh, typical……….Well there's no point just sitting here, I suppose. Time to have some fun!' _

Jumping to his feet with a smirk on his face, the dark warrior made for his Geno Breaker, calling for a certain black Organoid.

"SHADOWWWW!"

The Organoid, hearing the yell, blurred through the fields of wheat in which he had been. Spreading his wings, he took to the night sky, quickly catching up with his partner.

They had some business to attend to………….

_Returning, once again, to the present………_

"…..…."

Larka continued to stare blankly at the inferno before her.

………The flames.

………………..They reminded her of something.

A hidden memory that was just out of her grasp.

Suddenly, a succession of images played out in her mind, a collection of a few random memories that seemed to surface in reaction to the sight before her.

_**Flash.** _

_Angela ran. _

_Sweating. _

_Panicking. _

_Her eyes were full of confusion and fear, her heart hurt and broken._

_A lone tear rolled done her face as she fought her emotions down. _

_She would not allow herself the weakness of tears._

_Suddenly, a figure dropped down before her, staff extended. _

_She didn't even pause, but dove to the side, drawing her scarlet blade._

_The figure stood in a fighting stance, his bo-staff held before him expertly._

_His face was serious._

_Determined._

_But you couldn't see his eyes…._

_For he was wearing an _eye_-mask………_

_Angela trembled as her own eyes widened, and uncharacteristically clutched at her sword._

_He then spoke, his voice every bit as determined as his face._

"_The road ends **here **An-"_

_**Flash**_

"_Why! Why are you doing this! We've realized that it was a misunderstanding! We know you didn't do any of those horrible things and we're all sorry for accusing you of them!"_

"……_I know."_

"_SO WHY _DO_ THIS! This is worst than any of that other shit! WAY worse! It's BETRAYAL!" _

"_Heh, so tell me, how does it feel……_brother_?"_

"……_what?"_

"_You heard me. How does it **feel**?" _

"…_.DON'T become another Terra. Please don't. The others have already suffered betrayal _once_. They don't need to go through it again. If you do this it will tear them apart. They already feel horrible enough about what we all did as it is! Please! I'm asking you as a friend, as your _brother_, don't do this…..surely Sargon hasn't twisted you as much as you think. And as corny as it may sound, I know that somewhere in that cold demeanor is my little sister. And what about Katrina? You're her big sister, and she is the third child. The one destined to return to Zi; to put an end to Sargon and revive our father's Zoid. She looked up to you and still does! But if you do this…what will she think? One of her own siblings having joined the side of the one she is meant to destroy! It will crush her! And the good person inside of you that_ I _know, wouldn't do something like that…….."_

"_Katrina….is a good for nothing, spoiled little bitch and I could care less about what she thinks or feels. And you _still _haven't answered my first question." _

"…_..My god……what has he turned you into? What has that bastard turned you into!…Have you no heart anymore! We're family! We're not supposed to turn-"_

"_DON'T BE A HYPOCRITE, XAVIER! Don't you DARE lecture me about what you, along with those other damn fools put me through!"_

"_I told you we were sorry!" _

"_Sorry isn't good enough!"_

"_Then what else do you want us to do!"_

"_TO BURN IN HELL! Hraaaaahhh!"_

_And Angela ran forward as she snarled, swinging her scarlet sword at her surprised brother……. _

"_NO! A-"_

_**Flash**_

_From where she stood, she could see it all. _

_What was left of a burning cityscape….._

_The Roran'ty ran amok in the streets, completely unhindered as they laughed and howled like the demons they were._

_And…….she just watched them._

_Screaming could be heard on the stifling breeze, coming up from a far street. _

_The few remaining civilians, the ones who hadn't been evacuated, ran. Terrified of the possessed that hunted them._

_Smoke drifted upwards, blacking out the sky._

_But, in the distance, she could hear explosions. _

_A building toppled and voices were shouting._

_A powerful blast from a sonic cannon could be seen from here, lighting up the murky atmosphere._

_It seemed that her former companions where still fighting her master's servants……._

"…………_.,"_

_With her mental telepathy she could sense them all. The fools. Still fighting a pointless battle. One that they had lost the moment that they had turned on her. _

_At the touch of her slight mental brush, she sensed her brother and sister immediately tense, nearly stopping in their tracks, along with _one_ other. Though she was too far away from them for the three to try to communicate with or pinpoint her location, they reached out accordingly. _

_Her brother kept his defenses up, but was obviously forcing himself to be calm and open to her presence, as if he were trying to coax a wild animal into eating out of his palm. At this she almost laughed. He _still_ hadn't given up! It was almost getting to be ridiculous!_

_Katrina was a different story, however. No calm greetings here. Just bristling anger, contempt……and a slight tinge of….pity? _

_And then there was………Shade. He was not a sibling of hers, oh no. He was something of a completely _different _caliber. Or……used to be……..she had no such feelings toward him now. At least….that's what she _told_ herself…… _

_All she could feel from him was sorrow and his lingering feelings toward her, the feelings that simply refused to die no matter how much she encouraged them to. _

_Suddenly, her semi-connection with Shade disappeared, right as a huge mushroom cloud of fire, dust and debris exploded into the air in the area in which the battle had been taking place. _

………_But her siblings' remained……..That could only mean……….._

"……_Oh no…….," she whispered to herself. _

……_..Surely not…… _

_Shade was an excellent warrior and an even better one with teammates fighting by his side. But perhaps their momentary 'connection' had distracted him to the point that he hadn't been watching what he was doing and….._

_It wasn't like she cared or anything though…….she was just curious……….right? _

_Wrong._

_A flood of emotions washed over her as she realized that her 'friend' had just 'died'…….and though she hadn't killed him herself, it had been her fault….._

_Finally, she felt deep down……..that she hadn't truly meant any of the hurtful things she had done and said._

_And she was sorry._

_For everything._

_But like she had said once before, sorry isn't enough._

_And a fierce scream of pain, rage, and guilt tore through her lips as she cursed herself, the Roran'ty, Sargon, and any and all gods that may exist. _

_But mainly……herself. _

_Her sorrowful cry could be heard for miles._

_It reached the sharp ears of the Roran'ty, who turned their crazed, bulbous eyes on the racket, growling and whining like a pack of jackals. _

_It reached the few, fleeing civilians, spurring them on all the faster._

_It reached a certain green eyed man with dark brown hair, standing on a rooftop several blocks away, holding a remote andwatching the hurting teen that 'served' his master._

_And as it reached the battleground, it reached the ears of the worse for wear, but still living teenagers, who turned in shock at the sound of the familiar voice in so much agony. The fact of the matter was that Shade wasn't dead, merely knocked unconscious from stray rubble. _

_But Angela didn't know that. _

_All she knew was the horrible guilt and pain that had swelled up inside of her, was being replaced by an uncontrollable rage. A rage, that if not sated, would destroy her from the inside out._

_And the closest targets…..was a group of Minor Roran'ty. Like the ones that had helped cause her ex's 'end'…._

……_And they were going to pay._

"……………_Haaah-HRAAAUUUUGHHHH!" and she leapt at them, her scarlet weapon held high and thirsting for blood. _

_**Flash**_

_Two swords are clashing._

_Clashing in a never ending dance._

_**Flash**_

_Blood is everywhere, running from countless wounds on both individuals._

_Dripping and draining._

_Bleeding._

_Ever bleeding._

_**Flash**_

_-insane giggling_

_**Flash**_

_-an explosion_

_**Flash**_

_-platform _

_**Flash**_

_FLAAASSSHHH!_

_**Flash**_

Larka gasped, the pupils of her violet eyes contracting as she returned to reality. The memories she had just 'seen' were already slipping away, like most dreams do after you completely wake up. Half of the time, one doesn't even remember that they had had a dream at all.

So it was with Larka, only that she didn't 're-forget' absolutely everything, AND she hadn't been dreaming. But she couldn't remember really any of the details, such as the face of…..who had that boy been?

Suddenly, a loud roar got her attention. And for the first time, the teen noticed the Zoids. An enormous, blue Lion-like one which was accompanied by a sort of Bison and…….what was that little white critter next the blue one?

A challenging roar brought her back again and she spotted the other Zoids: a Wolf, a Scorpion, and a Viper. Anger filled her heart. For somehow, she could sense that these were the ones that had put an end to Guss. And though she hadn't even known Guss for but a day, he had been the first friend she had had……that she could remember, of course.

Anger swiftly turned to rage, and the flaming Passion that Larka had always survived on, though not now knowing it, awoke from its nap and swiftly rekindled into an inferno, much like the one behind her.

She stood up, glaring at the accused Zoids as they began a confrontation with the others. But she was no fool. There was no way she could possibly take on such creatures by herself.

And then……..she thought of one important thing, something that could change her current state of weakness drastically.

'_The Helcat…….'_

_Back at the 'fight'………_

_Sxxxxxxtkkkk "This is the Guardian Force! Surrender now and you will be unharmed! Resist, and we will be forced to take action against you!"_

_SkkkKKt "Surrender? Where's the fun in that?"_ retorted Nave. But his voice had lost most of its cocky edge.

"_This is your last warning! We won't give you another!"_

The Blood Reapers began to talk on a private channel, worriedly exchanging tactics.

"_Ohhhhhhh maaaan, we are in for it now!"_

"_Looks like the shit's finally decided to hit the fan. Reaver, try to get hold of the boss. Ask him what we should do."_

"_I'm trying! But all I'm gettin is static! I can't even get a signal on the Iron Kong anymore. It's like it's vanished off the face of the planet!"_

"_Damn it! I knew we shouldn't have trusted that Damien sleaze!"_

"_Man we gotta get outta here! Pronto!"_

"'_Oh yeah that'll be easy! All we gotta do is get past those pissed off law enforcers that saw us blow up some ole geezer and his house and then it it'll be a cakewalk!' BE YE BLIND! That's the G.F. over there, not a bunch of girl scouts selling cookies!"_

"_Both of you, shut up! We are the Blood Reaper gang! We don't stand down to anybody! So the answer to our problem is simple: we fight."_

"_Since boss isn't here, you are_ _the leader, Talia. So I guess we go by your lead, girl."_

"_Okay, sure. I guess I can follow Miss big, bad and pmsing. But can I go and up the anti on my life insurance policy first?"_

"_Enough of the smartass attitude, Nave. Let's show these guys how REAL pilots fight!" _

"_Oh hell yeah!"_

"…_..We're gonna die……."_

While the B.R. gang discusses their fate…….

"What do you think they're doing? They're just standing there."

"They're probably trying to come up with a way to get out of here with their asses still attached."

"……What has this situation got to do with donkeys?"

"………….,"

"……..,"

"……I don't really know how to respond to _that, _but may I point something out?"

Van sighed before saying, "Alright, what is it now, Sikes?"

"Well it's nothing really, just that……THE REALLY HOT MUTANT NON-ALIEN CHICK IS GONE!" he shouted, causing everyone to cover their ears and sweatdrop.

The others turned to look at where Sikes was pointing dramatically, only to see that he was right.

She _was _gone.

Recovering, Thomas spoke up.

"We'll worry about her later. Let's just deal with these guys first,"

"Sounds good to me," agreed Van, grinning. It was about time he got some action.

But before he could call out on the intercom to the mercs, the Guysack fired off some shots, sending up puffs of dust in front of the Liger. Realizing that they weren't planning on surrender, the Guardian Force attacked, 'with guns blazing'.

_Inside the hanger……._

Larka blurred across the ground, having just cleared the long flight of stairs.

Without pausing, she ran up to the Helcat, stopping before its foreleg. Whether Hel actually sensed her urgency or not, she didn't know. But the next second, the teen found herself looking into the open cockpit of the Zoid.

She immediately leapt in and the Panther lifted its head, before stretching its mechanical paws and roaring.

"RRROOWWWRR-RAwwwWWrrwwRRR!"

And that's when Larka realized….she didn't have a darn clue as to what she was doing…….

…….She sweatdropped……

But Hel must have figured this out. Because it then turned and headed for the hanger exit….the one Guss had told her about.

As the big-cat Zoid began to trot forward, Larka looked about her at the controls inside the cockpit. Carefully, she placed her hand on the left throttle stick and experimentally pulled it backwards.

Hel immediately turned to the left.

Getting the idea, she placed her hands on both sticks and pushed forward. The Helcat trotted right out of the exit, out into the night air.

From where she was, she could hear the sounds of the skirmish higher up on the mountain behind her, at the cabin's remains.

"……."

Hel growled, its black cockpit shining with the starlight as it 'looked' up at the cliff above them.

"Rwwwwrrrggghhh….."

In an instant, the Panther turned and was bounding swiftly up the cliff, completely ignoring the neat, gravel road that had led up mountain.

Larka tightly gripped the steering mecha as the two 'flew' up the cliff-side.

She was gonna haft to get used to this……

_Back at the fight…….._

"SHRRREEEIIII!" screamed the Guysack as it plowed up from underneath the Dibison. Thomas expertly sidestepped his attacker and brought his Zoids hoof right down on the Scorpions tail. It shrieked in protest, pinchers snapping around at the Dibison.

Pinning it to the ground, he maneuvered his Bison's crash horns so that he could 'pick it up' and toss it.

SMAAASSSHHH!

….Only for the Command Wolf to plow into his Zoids side, as Reaver snarled, "Get the hell away from her!"

Tom grinded his teeth in frustration. He was getting beat up by a couple of _petty_ _criminals_, and was certainly not enjoying it. Van however, from what he could see, was having a slightly better experience in dealing with 'his' merc.

Poor Tom.

"Come on you bastard! Bring it!" cried Nave as the Stealth Viper avoided a missile salvo from the Liger.

Growling in slight annoyance, Van activated the Ligers blade attack and rushed forward, teeth barred. Nave didn't have much of a chance to react, but managed to turn slightly, so as to only get clipped, instead of being cut in half.

The Liger spun on a dime though, and came back at him, paws smashing into its head, shattering the cockpit. Nave was sent screaming into the air, and landed several yards away from his downed Zoid. Unconscious.

In the past, such an opponent would have given Van a good bit of trouble. Now, it was a cakewalk for the experienced pilot. Smirking in his 'ole cocky manner, Van piloted the blade-liger in the Dibison's direction to help out.

Meanwhile, Thomas was trying to shake off a very angry Command Wolf, which was latched down on his Bison's shoulder.

"Nnnnnghhh, get off me!"

With a final buck, the Dibison sent Reaver flying into the cliff-side with a yelp, only to be hit with a volley of hell-seeker missiles from the Guysack. Tom yelled as his Zoid shook from the impact, holding on for dear life. Then Van's voice came through on the intercom too the Guysack pilot, Talia.

Skkkkkt _"I _know_ you're not messin wif my buddy!"_

The Liger suddenly passed through Tom's line of sight as it streaked towards the offending Scorpion. With a roar, it pounced on it, crushing it into the ground.

Talia screamed as her Zoid was pummeled into the ground, the Guysack's combat system freezing. Reaver cried out some incoherent yell as he saw her Zoid being ground into the mountain soil. As he rushed his damaged Zoid to her aid, a dozen, small projectiles of sort or another collided into his Command Wolf, practically blowing the poor Zoid into pieces.

A limping Dibison approached from the side, withdrawing a still smoking, pop-out missile launcher. Inside it's cockpit, a weary Thomas turned his attention to the Liger.

_Sxxkkkk "And you say that I'm the showoff!"_

_Skkkkt "Whuh? Oh, hey, don't even start this now, I totally just saved your butt!" _retorted Van.

"_Pfft, oh please, I had everything under control."_

"_Guys, stop it! I'm getting sick of you two acting like children, bickering about who's a better pilot!"_

"_Yes'm."_

"_Sorry Fiona."_

"_Yeah…you guys should be ashamed of yourselves and-"_

"_Sikes….shut up, man."_

"_Well sheesh! Alright then! Whatever happened to freedom of speech you dictators? Anywho, where was I? Oh yeah,………THAT WAS SO FREAKIN COOL!" _

At the fanatic's outburst, everyone winced. He could just be too loud!

"LIKE, when the Liger jumped on that Guysack and was like, 'Rooooaar!'! and the Guysack was like, 'SHRREEE!' and-"

"Sikes….."

"And when the Dibison was bucking around tryin' to get that Wolf off and then _threw _it into the cliff-"

"Siiii-iiikess….."

"And _then _when the Liger did that little blade thingy and sorta missed but doubled back and-"

"SIKES!"

"Huh? What?

"Well its just that-"

"Van! Look out!" cried Fiona, as she pointed past him.

Standing at the head of the downed Stealth Viper, was Nave, holding and Anti-Zoid projectile launcher on his shoulder. And he was aiming at the Liger……

"Eat shit, you son of a-" he began as he started to squeeze the trigger. But he didn't get a chance to finish. For a thunderous roar filled the air, one that was all to familiar too the Guardian Force……

"RRRRROOOOOOOOWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRR!"

The earth rumbled behind him with gigantic footsteps. An enormous shadow cast itself over the gang member as he turned to look behind him……only to look right into the face of the Geno Breaker….

Nave trembled in his boots and a wet spot appeared on his pants as he lowered the launcher. He cowered and covered his head with one arm and clutched the weapon with the other, murmuring terrified pleas for mercy under his breath.

_Skkkkttt! "Well, well, well, _wha_t do we got here?" said a voice, emitting from intercom ofthe giant T-rex. " Oooh, nice toy. Mind if I play with it?" _'asked' Raven as the Geno Breaker reached an arm out and snatched away the launcher from his victim, crushing it like a toothpick. The once cocky Nave whimpered pitifully, throwing both arms in front of his head to form some sort of shield.

As Raven lifted the Geno Breaker away from the cowering merc, he turned towards his ex-nemesis, smirking slightly.

"That's twice now, Van. _Twice_ that I've had to save your hide."

"_Raven? What are you doing here?" _asked a stunned Flyheight.

"……_..I've been looking into something. But there's no need to ask what you lot are out here for, I suppose. Yal are here to figure out those disappearances and take care of these _imbeciles_, right?"_

"_Y-Yeah….pretty much, we've..-oh crap! He's getting away!"_

Nave, having recovered from looking Death in the face, had done what most cowards do…..run away! Unfortunately for him, he had been noticed. But another unfortunate, was that Death had decided to come in another form…..one that was smaller, blacker, and really pissed off.

"_RAAAAWWWWWRRRRRR!" _screamed something off to his right. And of course, being rather stupid, Nave stopped running, and turned to look.

A big, black, metallic paw shot forward seemingly out of nowhere and slammed into the poor man, breaking about every bone in his body…..including his spine.

Crrkk-KKRAAAKKK!

His body was sent ragdolling across ground, kicking pebbles and dust wherever it hit, until he came to a dead stop. Literally.

……And standing where he had once been, was Hel, rumbling furiously.

"WwwwrrrRRRrrggghhhhHH-wwrrrrrr!"

The Guardian Force and 'friends' starred in startled silence at the violent display of the angry little Zoid before them. It turned to stare at them, its black cockpit glinting with the fires of the ruined cabin, before it turned and ran, disappearing from sight. Merging with the darkness……..

"…….,"

"……….,"

"…………_what the hell?"_

"…….took the words right outta my mouth, Van….."

"Ditto."

"I KNOW WHO IT WAS! IT WAS THE EVIL, BUT INCREDIBLY HOT, NON-ALIEN MUTANT FREAKY CHICK!"

"…..ummmmm yeah, okay……." said Tom, sweatdropping.

"…….whatever….." murmured Van. He wasn't really even listening to he fanatic, mainly cause he was thinking. _'Who had that been? Someone must have been piloting it, cause a wild Zoid doesn't just attack someone like that out of the blue. Was it that girl we saw earlier? And if so……why?" _

"Oh! And another thing….your 'friend' in thebadass Zoid is gone, too."

Now this got his attention.

"What!"

And looking up, he realized that Sikes was, once again, correct. Tracks led away from the group, off in the direction that the black Helcat had gone off in. The Geno Breaker was gone……and Raven with it……….

Raven 'flew' the Geno Breaker through the trees, looking for the black Zoid. He had a hunch that if he could find this mysterious attacker, that he might later find Ryss. It may not have made any sense at the moment, but hunches very rarely ever make sense at first. And since his hunches were almost always right, he decided to go with it. But the only problem was, that he had to find the Helcat. And it's pretty damn hard to follow an invisible something, whether it be Zoid or something else entirely………….

Hel ran down the rough terran of the slope, skillfully leaping over debris and such. Larka had gotten the hang of the controls and was piloting the Helcat with ease. It was really rather simple actually, and it seemed to come naturally to her,…….though of course, she didn't know why.

When Hel had attacked that man, Larka couldn't have stopped it even if she had wanted too. Sensing her angry emotions towards that particular mercenary had obviously spurred the Zoid on even more. In some strange, unexplainable way, Hel had understood what that man had done and had decided on its own to avenge its deceased partner.

As the two rushed invisibly over the landscape, Larka realized that there was a lot about Zoids that she didn't know. She knew that Hel seemed to have its own mind, literally, but she didn't know if that was the same for all Zoids or what. She'd find out eventually, she supposed. But her main problem was this: where to go now. She had no where to go or anything else for that matter. Except for her sword...Butshe didknow that she wanted to find out the mysteries of her past, but she didn't know how. …..It was certainly a dilemma………………

'_And as they all went about their various tasks, the stars watched over them. Each and every one…..' thus quoted from the author's fav 'author'. _

……to be continued…………..


	5. Icegale 4 finale

Kudos to AnimeAmber and Cherub Chick for their reviews…they make me glad..…………And now…….for the story……..

Sshwtang! 

_Shtttang!_

_Sshwtang!_

_Shhtaangg!_

_Sshwtang!_

_Shtttang!_

_Sshwtang!_

_Shhtaangg!_

The Helcat padded along on the hard, rocky ground, its mechanical paws making metallic sounds when connecting with the stone. The little Zoid had slowed from its swift pace over the rough turf nearly an hour ago and was now treading at a comfortable speed up a sloping trail.

"………..,"

Larka sat in thought at the controls of the Panther, mulling the events of the night over in her mind. She had been put in a bit of a predicament, but she realized now that she'd be better off on her own. That way, no one _else_ would end up like Guss……..

Brummmmlll-booooo-oooooom…… 

The teen looked up at the rumbling, and the Helcat stopped its trekking.

Monstrous thunderclouds hung heavily over the peaks of a nearby group of mountains, 'smothering' that part of the starry sky and hiding it from view. Occasionally lightening raced throughout it, lighting up the atmosphere.

"Wwwrrrrrrrrrrrr…….," growled Hel, as it swished its tail back and forth, 'staring'.

Larka paused to watch the approach of the boiling clouds. Outside of the cockpit, the pressure was starting to drop and one could practically feel that the air was charging with ions. It looked like they were in for some rain……..…

_In the small valley below Larka's present location…….._

"……………," Shadow silently glared at the coming storm, trotting after the tail of the Geno Breaker.

The giant Zoid was thudding across the soft valley grass, following what was left of the faint tracks of the Helcat. As they reached the foot of a nearby mountain, they all but lost them, the ground being too hard for much of an imprint to have been made.

Raven 'reined in' the big T-rex, his eyes scanning the rocks before him for any sign of the smaller Zoid.

…..No luck.

"Now what?" the dark warrior sighed in frustration.

_Splap!_

A raindrop splattered on the cockpit's windshield.

He looked up at it and blinked.

Suddenly, a particularly loud thunder-clap boomed over head, and as if on cue…….the bottom of the storm fell out……..

Outside, Shadow sweatdropped as the rain started to pour down on his draconian face.

"Awrrrrggghhh…….,"

Shaking himself, the Organoid scrambled to get under a nearby conifer, growling in annoyance.

In several minutes, the entirety of the surrounding landscape was soaked from the deluge.

"RrrrRRwwwwWWrrrrrmmmm…."

The Geno Breaker rumbled impatiently along with the thunder, its eyes seemingly aglow up whenever lightning streaked across the night sky.

"……..,"

Raven silently cursed his bad fortune. This heavy rain would completely wash away any tracks that he could have found.

And then…….a rock bounced off the Zoids head.

"……?"

He looked out at the dark, rainy landscape, glancing up at the mountainside. As he did, more rocks clattered down the rocky sloped and dropped down on his Zoid.

He narrowed his eyes. What inthe bluehell was doing that?

He reached over to his console and brought the source of the disturbance up on screen.

And what he saw…….made him smile victoriously…..

High up, a black Helcat was slowly making its way up a steep and muddying trail, its claws scrabbling in the softened soil. And thusly……kicking up a lot of gravel.

More rocks clanked off the Geno Breaker as if to emphasize the point.

Raven's smile faded though when he thought about something important. How in Eve's name did it get up there?

As he pondered this, a path off too his left caught the attention of the dark pilot.

"………"

…And….he grinned…….

_Back in Ice-gale………._

Van leaned against a wall in Jafson's Place, looking out a nearby window as the rain poured down. After getting over the initial surprise of the murderous little Helcat and the swift arrival/departure of Raven, the Guardian Force, plus one, had rounded up the surviving members of the Blood Reaper gang. Van and Thomas then began an interrogation of the mercs. And what they had learned had not been comforting…………

_Earlier that night…………._

Van stood across from the two 'prisoners', his arms folded. Talia and Reaver sat cross-legged on the ground, in front of the smoking remains of Guss' cabin. Their hands were tied behind them with some rope, serving as makeshift handcuffs.

Talia was staring blankly at a little pebble near her feet, 'looking' at it but not really seeing it.

Completely spaced out.

Reaver on the other hand was fidgeting and sweating, the right corner of his mouth twitching nervously.…….

"……,"

"………,

"……..Who hired you?" The two looked up at the sound of Van's voice.

"………,"

"…….,"

"…Well?"

"…….Why should we tell you?"

"…….Because-"

"_Because_," interrupted Tom, "If you cooperate with us we'll let you off easy. In fact, we'll _let you go._"

"Whuh? We will?" asked Van, turning to the Lt. Shubaltz.

Tom looked at Van and then pulled him away from the prisoners to have a conversation without their hearing, and began to explain.

"Yeah….Do you want to haul them _all_ the way back to HQ?"

"Not really, but we can't just up and let them go, they helped kill a man, not to mention all the other charges against them: terrorizing, possible kidnapping--"

"I know all that, and I don't like it any more than you, Van, but what other choice do we have?"

"………..,"

"I'd personally like to investigate, see what the heck's been happening around here. I mean, _something's _got to be going down…..,"

"Mmhmmm, you _do _gotta point. I don't think these events have been just random chaos, they've go to be connected," Van agreed, "The disappearances, the mercenaries, Raven's search, even the, um, the _flashings_. Not to mention that girl we saw earlier….I've got a hunch that she plays a big part in all of this craziness…"

"Whaddya mean?"

"….I think…..I think its like Sikes said: _she_ was piloting that black Helcat…."

Tom ground his boot into the mountain soil, thoughtful. _'It would make sense….'_

"……….,"

"……….,"

"So…..We interrogate the mercs, see what we can get outta them, and then go from there?"

"….Sounds good to me," replied Tom, as the pilots turned to Reaver and Talia.

"Ok you two, same question as before, 'Who sent you?'" asked Van, putting on his best 'ruthless interrogator face'.

The two 'prisoners', glanced at each other before Reaver nodded and said, "He said his name was _Damien_."

The Reaver then began to explain, with some help from Talia, saying how Damien had hired them, as well as their boss and Nave. He had wanted them to find some kind of weird stone, some sort of _obelisk_; he'd said that they would 'know it when they found it'.

"_So….what exactly does this thing look like?" asked Gordo, glaring suspiciously at the man before him._

"_It'd be rather difficult to describe it to you, but let's just say that you'll know it when you see it….," smirked Damien._

_Before him stood the Blood Reaper mercenary gang, their Zoids visible behind them. _

_Talia then spoke, wary._

"_And what do we get in return for this wild goose-chase?"_

"_Hehehe, hell yeah! You'd better have some serious dough on you buddy if we're gonna be doin' _half _of you're crazy lil' treasure hunt!"_

"'_Nave' isn't it?" asked Damien as he looked at the previous speaker. Nave grinned in response to the query._

"_Damn straight!"_

"_Well then 'Nave', just name your price. My master would be glad to compensate."_

_Nave's grin doubled in size, his eyes lighting up greedily. $Ch-CHING$_

"_Money is good, but how do we know we can trust you?" asked Gordo. _

"_Why, I give you my word," said Damien, his green irises sparkling._

"_Hrrmph," said Talia, crossing her arms. She didn't like this guy…_

"………_.," Reaver said nothing. _

"_Sounds bitchin' good to me! When do we start!" crowed Nave._

"_Right now," said the stranger, smiling._

_Gordo nodded thoughtfully, but held his mammoth hand out to darker haired man._

"_We shake on it," growled the big mercenary. _

"_But of course," said Damien, shaking the big 'paw'. _

_And none of the mercs ever noticed the sly, dark smirk growing on his lips. _

"Part of our 'job' had been to make sure that none of the locals got in our way, to ensure that we found the obelisk_ first_. This involved the, uh, _terrorizin'_ that we had to do sometimes…..,"

"But whenever that wasn't enough, Damien would send some of his men," spat Talia.

"Are these the guys who have been abducting people," asked Tom.

"……..,"

"…..Yes,"

"_What do you mean _them_? We've got this under control! We don't need _their _help right now!" said Gordo, looking_ _at the man on screen. _

_Damien's shiny green eyes looked back at him._

"_I mean exactly what I said, Gordo. My master is growing impatient with your team's slow progress--"_

"_Slow? Damn it, we're working with info that _you _gave us, which wasn't much to begin with! We're going as fast as we fucking can!"_

"_There's no need to shoot the messenger, Gordo," said Damien, a slight hint of menace in his voice. "But as I was saying, Sargon grows impatient, which is saying something for he is a very patient man. The villagers aren't staying in their little homes as much as they should, and whether you are willing to admit it or not, its dampening your progress. They need….a reminder. It's been a awhile since _they've_ taken any of them anyways. My master has been needing some fresh servants ……,"_

"_But-" began the gruff pilot._

"_Don't worry……..their very effective in what they do. Just one 'abduction' should keep the silly people cowering in their homes for weeks. But I suggest you and your team stay clear of _them_,"_

"_Why? Are _they_ dangerous or something?"_

"_Heheheheheh, oh yes, very. In fact, _they're_ criminally insane. But like I said, don't worry……._they_ won't harm you if don't get in _thei_r way……,"_

"_I still don't like the sound of these guys………do they got something _they_ call themselves or…..,"_

"…_..Yes, actually, _they_ do. _They're_ name in the…..well, _the other_ language is just too hard to pronounce. But in our language _they _are known as the Roran'ty,"_

"The….R-Roran'ty?" asked Fiona. She and Sikes had joined the sides of the Thomas and Van, having been bored hanging around the Liger.

"Yeah, that's what Gordo told us. Eve knows where the poor bastard is now….. Why? Have you heard of that before?" asked Talia.

"I-I think so…..it sounds so very familiar and yet….a great sense of dread accompanies it…….something very w-wicked……," murmured the Zoidian, wringing her hands.

All eyes now rested on Fiona. Curious.

"Miss Fiona, can you remember _when _you heard that? It might help us," said Thomas.

"I….I…n-no, I-I can't…..,"

Van gently consoled her, before turning to the mercs.

"Did you ever see one? If you did, a description would do wonders…."

"Naw, sorry," slurred Reaver.

"No, but I believe Nave did before he……" Talia let it hang there.

_The Stealth Viper slithered through the early morning fog, its head weaving back and forth amongst the damp conifers._

"_Just my luck that I get 'search duty' on a fucked-up morning like this………damn I can't see shit," complained the vulgar pilot._

_Suddenly the fog began to clear as the land opened up, revealing a small, rocky valley. As it did, a dark form shot in front of him, causing him to jerk the Viper to a stop._

"_The hell!"_

_A long pause……but then-_

_Blam! _

_A body landed upside down on the top of the cockpit, blood seeping from its nose._

"_AAAAAAAHHHH!" screamed Nave, nearly wetting himself._

_For a long second it just lay there, large eyes blank and unseeing, its body slowly oozing down the front of the windshield. _

_Until…….it grinned….._

_Nave gasped as the _man's_ face contorted into a horrible, bloody smile and then as _it's_ bulbous eyes began to twitch wetly. _

It's _eyes slowly began to turn and looked directly at the horrified pilot, stopping their twitching, if only temporarily. _

"_Helloooooooo…….," _it _cooed through the windshield. _

_And then, _it _face contorted into a look of horrible rage as the _man _began to shriek viciously at the top of _its _lungs, with sharp, grey teeth bared, only to stop and start laughing like a hyena. _

_Nave, completely freaked out by the creature's behavior, had the Viper toss the possessed lunatic off, while shouting some incoherent curse._

_Sweating, he promptly turned his Zoid around and 'ran' off, his proverbial 'tail between his legs'. _

_And he never looked back to see _the other _climb slowly to _its _feet, blood smeared all over _its _face. The Roran'ty, for that is what it was, just stood there for a second, before flashing a trade-mark grin and blurring off over the rocks._

_Off to do some dark deed for _its _master……….._

_  
_"………..,"

"………,"

"……….Creepy…..,"

"You said it……but…what heck are_ they_? Are _they_ human or are _they _something else? I-I don't get it….,"

"Of course you don't!" shouted Sikes, causing everyone to flinch. "They're insane aliens here for our brain-juices! You're not supposed to understand! We're far too primitive to even begin to--,"

"Sikes….,"

"WE'RE. GONNA. DIE. We're all gonna die! WE ARE DOOMED! DOOOOOMED!"

"Sikes!"

"TOTAL ANNIHILATION, how do you spell it? D-O-O-M-E-D! DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDD!" howled the fanatic. Until…….

Smack!

A delicate fist flew across his cheek, checking his tirade.

Fionapulled her handaway as everyone else stared at her in shock……..including Sikes…..

"Now," she began, "Take a deep breath….,"

Sikes did so, gasping in a huge amount of air.

"Okay, let it out….,"

The fanatic did as he was told.

"Now don't you feel better?" she asked sweetly as the rest of the group sweatdropped.

"Ummmmmmmm, kinda…….,"

"If it gets him to shut-up the hell up, then it's good enough for me," muttered Van, an artery pulsing on his forehead.

Tom elbowed him.

"……Ow……,"

"So, do you plan on telling us why you smoked that poor old man's house?" as the Lt.

"……We were ordered to,"

"By Damien?"

"Yeah….,"

"Well….why?"

"He said something about some girl being a problem and wanted us to, um, to get rid of her….said she would be in the cabin. S-So after Nave blew the place, we saw her run up; she hadn't been in the house at all……..,"

Tom and Van glanced at each other.

So Van _had _been right; she didhave something to do with the situation……….

But…..what?

_Returning to the present…….._

"…..A poem. It was in an old poem that I learned when I was a little girl,"

Van looked up from the window to see Fiona looking over his shoulder.

"What?"

"A prophetic poem…….its where I heard that name: Roran'ty."

Interested, Van gave her his whole attention.

"I can't remember much of it…f-for _now _at least…..but I _do_ know that the Roran'ty are certainly bad news……for all of Zi, not just us. We must be careful, Van. I have a very foreboding feeling about all of this,"

"Don't worry Fiona……Zeke 'n I'll take care of any 'bad news' that comes around," he said goofily.

"Hm-hm-hm….yes I'm sure…..but don't forget about Tom!"

"Uhhhh, y-yeah…..him too," he added, looking rather put off.

Fiona just giggled at him, before taking him by the arm and tugging him after her.

"Come! We must talk to the civilians,"

Van groaned as he was towed after the petite Zoidian.

It seemed that the night was not over yet……

_Amidst the rain and rocks……._

The black Helcat slipped and slid over the muddied earth as it clambered down a steep slope. Below it, whenever lightening happened to grace the sky, one could see the dim outline of a crescent-like ravine, graced with the silvery thread of a river that snaked its way through the pine-spattered valley.

Larka looked out over the cliff side which she was piloting the Helcat past. That was a really steep drop…….

"………..,"

"ROOO-WWWAAAUUUUUWWWWWRRRRRRGGHHHH!"

She jumped at the sudden proclamation from the little Zoid, as Hel spun around on its hind legs to face something behind it.

Lightening illuminated an enormous figure higher up on the mountain, shadowy and ominous .

The larger figure rumbled in response to Hel's cry, jumping and landing a good many meters in front of the Panther……

And before them stood the Geno Breaker, its red armor glistening and wet from the continuing rain, its eyes glowing from the never ceasing flashes of lightening.

Raven sat at the controls, his previous smile having been replaced by a look of mild determination. Now that he had found the Helcat, he wasn't exactly sure as to how to approach it……mainly because he wasn't sure what it's pilot had to do with Ryss. Being that he had always been a 'kick ass first, ask questions later' kind of guy, he decided to go with his gut. Kick ass first…..

The larger Zoid snapped its jaws and snarled, trying to intimidate the little Panther as it started to stomp forward. That didn't exactly go as Raven had hoped however, for Hel promptly activated its cloaking device.

"……Shit,"

Larka sweated as she tried to think of what to do. That was one big-ass Zoid…..how was she supposed to fight it?

Suddenly she noticed the weapons system had come online, seemingly all on its lonesome.

_**Anti-Zoid 30mm: LOADED – Operational **_

_**Anti-Zoid 3 Barreled Shock Cannon: Clear – Un-operational **_

_**SS Missile Pod: LOADED – Operational **_

And the list went on…..

"…..,'

She pressed forward on the steering mecha, while giving the commands to fire the 30mm.

Kra-kow!

Hel fired away, the projectiles hitting the larger Zoid in the noggin, while the stealthy little Panther pulled about behind the T-rex, preparing for another sneak attack.

"Hmm. Is _that_ the best you've got?" smirked Raven as his Zoid shook, turning about to face where the shots had come from.

KR-Krakowww!

Suddenly, two more shots slammed into him from…….behind? This little Zoid was starting to get annoying……

Then, he realized that this stupid rain _was _good for something. For as it poured, he knew that steam would start to rise from the Zoids, as their cores grew hot from battle.

"….Where are you?….," he murmured to himself, looking over the soggy landscape.

At first……there was nothing….

……But then……..

Rising steam caught his eye, coming up about 50 meters south from the Geno Breaker's current position.

"Heh, gotcha."

Sshwwiiii-POWwwwww!

B-Booooommmm!

Hel was literally knocked off its paws, flying through the air a good twenty meters. When the poor little Panther landed, it skidded for another forty, scraping over the rough granite……….

Skrrrrrrrcccccckk-kkkk-kkk-kkk-kkkkeeeeeekk!

…….Before groaning to a metallic stop.

"….Nnnngh," moaned the teen, rubbing her throbbing forehead. That…..had not been fun.

The rumble of rocket boosters filled the air as the T-rex landed near Hel's head, shaking the ground.

Larka did some quick thinking. If she continued to 'fight' this guy, she'd either go for another ride,…..or worse. Plus, she still didn't really know what she was doing……..and it seemed that her combat system was all froze up. It said so in big bold letters on the screen. Now she was no coward, but she wasn't stupid either. And this was one of those times when its best to avoid confrontation………..especially since that Zoid was at least three times Hel's size…….

"………..,"

And then, as if on pure intuition, Hel jumped lithely to its paws and activated its cloaking. It was time to get the hell outta Dodge……

"How are you still standing," growled Raven in frustration. That particle blast had been _very_ low charged, but still! A simple Helcat shouldn't be jumping about after that! It was impossible!

Larka finally heard the other pilot's irritated voice crackle over the intercom, male from the sounds of it. She just smirked, saluted sarcastically, and took off down the mountainside.

Raven watched as lil' Panther footprints appeared in the mud, trailing down the slope.

"Oh no you don't."

He kicked the Geno Breaker into gear and took off after them.

_VRRmmmmMMM-WOOOSHHHHHHH! _

It's boosters flared to life as it rushed after the Helcat, eyes flashing eerily.

Larka gritted her teeth and concentrated, dodging this way and that as the Geno Breaker blindly shot miscellaneous projectiles at the steaming form of the Helcat. This guy just didn't know when to quit!

As they progressed, the land became even more muddy and rocky, making it nearly impossible to navigate. And let's not forget about that rain……….

Raven sweated slightly. If he wasn't careful, he could lose control of the Geno Breaker at this speed, and it was hard enough to pilot in these circumstances. The dark shadow of a pine greeted his vision and the T-rex nicked it, shattering it into a million splinters in a heartbeat……….

_K-Ccracck!_

He grimaced, but continued to focus on the invisible Zoid ahead of him.

…….And it was then that Raven noticed something.

The Helcat's left paw…….

It was sparking……..

Really badly………..

Hel's paw, which had been hurt when the Geno Breaker had tossed the Panther around, had started sparking more and more as the game of cat and mouse continued. By the time Raven had noticed this, the poor Zoid was actually limp/running down the slippery slope, in the rain, all the while avoiding such things as boulders and trees and even a moose or two………..

Needless to say, it wasn't gonna last much longer.

……..And…..it didn't……

Hel's leg finally gave out, and sent both pilot and Panther tumbling the rest of the way down the mountain………………….

Up above, Raven winced at the sight. He did _not _envy that pilot right now……

"WWWAAAWWRRRR!"

"……..shit, " said Larka, as she and the little Zoid toppled head first off a cliff, only to roll and crash the rest of their ungraceful way down…..

And down……

_And _down………..

And down some more……….until-

KrrRRccKKK! K-Crunchhh!

Hel slammed bodily into a ravine side, sparks dancing every which away.

An then……..darkness……

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Mmmngh,"

Larka came to, and found herself looking out of the cockpit at where they had crash-landed. Red liquid, obviously blood, trickled down her face. Reaching up, she wiped the blood from a small cut above her eyebrow away. What she didn't realize though, was that as her hand touched the scratch, it glowed a soft neon-blue, and promptly healed over……..as if it were never there……

Dazedly, her dark purple eyes narrowed as she took in her surroundings………..

They were lying haphazardly in a shallow river, the one she had spotted from higher up on the mountain……

_Sphhkkk! _

_Sph-SppKkk! _

_Spphhhk!_

The sound of sparking reached her sensitive ears, causing her to frown. That could not be good.

Rolling her sore neck to the side, she could see the screen flashing red, showing the damage the Helcat had received.

To her surprise, it wasn't as bad as she'd thought it would be, though Hel was in no condition for another ass-whooping. Puzzling this, she remembered something Guss and her had talked about, before he'd died………….

"_Helcats are quirky little Zoids. Most folks don't think to much of them on their own, cause of their size, but here's something about 'em that makes them so special: Put an 'ordinary Joe' for a pilot in the cockpit, you're gonna get ordinary results. But with the **right** pilot, they can become some of the toughest and fiercest lil' devils you're ever gonna meet! Sometimes it's taken a whole battalion just to beat a Helcat that's found its **right **pilot."_

"…_.What do you mean 'right pilot'."_

"…_...Well you see, there's an old myth, one that goes back for thousands of years, back when the ancient Zoidians were still around. Heck, it was before the Death Saurer had come about. It says something about some kind of 'Super-Zoid' or 'Zoid-god' that dispersed pieces of its 'soul' into the cores of all Zoids. Only, it gave larger portions of its spirit to the Helcats. I don't exactly know why, though. But the story goes, that because of that, all Zoids have something similar to human 'soul-mates', only its more like 'soul-pilots', or somethin' like that. That's where the term '**right** pilot' came from. Its very rare for a Zoid to find its **right **pilot though, nigh impossible, really. " _

"……,_"_

"_Heh, I guess what I'm trying to say is, that if a Zoid does found its **right** pilot, the two become an impeccable team. But when a _Helcat_ finds its right pilot, it can become right near invincible. Size ain't everything ya' know……"_

_Sphhk!_

_Spp-sphhk!_

Hel's sparking brought her back to reality, causing her to hear something else…….

…..Rocket boosters……

"……….Damn it."

Working the controls, the youth tried to get Hel to its feet, murmuring words of encouragement to the Zoid.

"WRrrrrrrWWmmmm!"

Hel slowly, mechanically managed to stand, mewling and groaning as it did so.

All the while, the sound of boosters grew louder, growing to a roar as the noise echoed off the ravine's steep sides.

"……..,"

Larka sweated as she strained at the controls, urging the Panther to move.

But as the boosters' ruckus reached an all time high, the teen picked something else out of the white-noise……….

_Further upstream…….._

The rain had swollen the river considerably, enlarging it to ridiculous proportions.

And not just the river…….but all of the streams that lead into it as well……..

…Needless to say, this sudden adage had created a giant wall of water, which was now speeding down its length, taking anything in its way with it……

….Trees…..

….Mud…

….Rocks…..

….._And everything else_….

…_.And now….back to the action…_

"….The heck is that?" asked Raven out loud, as he looked down into the ravine.

Was that…..water?

It was hard for the dark pilot to tell, with the rain and all.

But that's what it was…….an enormous wall of the stuff, raging down towards the little Helcat…..

"…..Oh shit!" he cursed, immediately heading the Geno Breaker down the trail towards the river, followed by Shadow.

If that pilot died then he'd probably _never _find out what happened to Ryss...

_Down in the ravine….._

The teen glanced out the cockpit to her right towards the extra noise,……and quickly did a double-take, sweatdropping.

_WOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!_

The tidal wave loomed into view, dragging pines and boulders in its wake. The water was going faster and faster, feeding on the tributaries and streams.

"……!"

….Today was just not her day………

Larka wasted no more time, pushing down on the throttle and urging Hel into a run, ignoring its limp. The water wall was brought up on screen, growing bigger and bigger as it sped towards them.

…….But something else was blinking on the screen, above the picture of the watery chaos…..

**Rocket Boosters**

"……,"

That would work.

She gave the command, and the boosters came to life, burning bright.

The Helcat shot forward, ahead of the water.

…..And _ran_………

_Up above……_

The Geno Breakers eyes illuminated the darkness as the lightening kept on flashing, ignoring the downpour around it, intent on the wave that threatened to swallow the fleeing Helcat.

"……,"

Raven continued to watch, his knuckles white around the throttle. His face betrayed no emotion, his façade calm and cool. However, he was anything but. If that pilot didn't make it………he was back to where he had started. With no leads. No answers………

Nothing.

…..But all he could do was wait.

He had stopped about halfway down the trail, realizing that he would never reach the river in time……and if he did, then what?

And so…….he watched.

"Rrrrrrrwwwrrrrrmmm," growled Shadow, standing alongside the enormous T-rex.

He occasionally swished his black tail, water spraying off it as he did. He knew that the information that that person may have was important to his partner. But even an Organoid has his limits……….

……He couldn't stop a tidal wave…..

He could only wait.

…….And together, they watched…...

_Water, water everywhere………_

_WSH-WOOOSSSHHHHH!_

The little Panther continued to run ahead of the water, passing a Helcats 190km limit.

Ahead of them, a steaming mist rose up and encircled the area, curling around Hel's feet before being dispersed by the wave behind it.

Suddenly, from what she could see, it looked like the river stopped in mid air, the mist billowing up from the drop-off. That could only mean one thing……….

……A god damn waterfall……

It seemed that god hated her………

"……,"

Larka's eyes grew determined as she pushed Hel faster, away from the angry water behind her, and yet straight towards a pit of the stuff.

If one looked at the sight from above, you could see how utterly strange this particular waterfall really was. It was, quite literally, a pit. The waterfall fell into an underground cavern, feeding the hidden river within it. The hole made a huge circle, easily seven hundred feet in diameter in some places, while in others only three hundred. On one side was the falls, and directly across from it, a ledge that led out of the ravine and back into the mountain range. The space between these points was, at least, four hundred fifty.

As the youth neared the drop-off, she gunned the thrusters, and Hel took a running leap…….over the abyss…….

……And time stood still……

The wall of water rushed over the edge behind them, roaring into the bottomless hole, tree trunks, boulders and other debris going with it…..

Hel was propelled for a long way, parting the mist with its flying form, but it was quite clear that the small Zoid had no chance of making it……..it was just too far…..

But then…..unbeknownst to its teen pilot, something occurred. She, quite unintentionally, channeled her own, strange powers through the Zoid.

Deep-violet, flaming energy engulfed Hel as it literally shot forward the rest of the way, crashing down in a heap on the ledge.

_Wh-WHUMPP! _

……And time resumed……

Breathing, Larka looks back at the dark water rushing into the depths…….

"…….,"

…….And sighed in relief…..

Wearily, she piloted the Helcat to its feet, and limped them both away from the dark abyss behind them…………..

………_Heading out into the mountains………_

_Back on the cliffs……._

Raven saw the black Zoid climb to its feet and walk away, trekking up and out into the mountain slopes.

Smirking and shaking his head, he made to follow……

But was prevented………

Above and in front of him, on a rock face, seven, blinking, blue scarab-like bugs detonate, crumbling the granite into boulders……

_B-BOOM!_

_BOOOM!_

_B-B-BOOOOM!_

_BOOOMMM!_

"Hmm?" he looked up and saw the enormous avalanche of stone raining down in front of him, blocking his path.

He frowns at this new obstacle. How in Eve's name?

_Panning up……._

Crouching on one knee, above the enormous red Zoid, Ryss smiled painfully…

"…..Sorry, Raven. But you can't be holding her up just yet."

She turned to Specula, soaked blue hair fluttering.

It was time……….

_Back in yon village……._

Tom finished talking, taking in the grave silence of the villagers.

He and the rest of the Guardian Force had just told them of the things that had transpired. Of Damien, the Blood Reapers,…..the Roran'ty. Even the black Helcat.

"…..So, yer sayin' that….that Ah'll neva' see my lil' girl again?" asked a grievous father.

"….We…We don't-" began Tom, but was cut off. Yet again.

"We are doing every thing we can, sir. I promise. But we'll need more time to investigate……and not necessarily around here." said Van, ignoring Tom's glare.

"There's no need for yor fancy words, Mr. Flyheight. So tell it ta meh straight: how likely is it that you'll be able ta restore our loved ones?" asked another.

Van sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair.

"…..It is v-very possible that they could already be dead."

Moans and sounds of weeping women came from the villagers, pricking at the pilot's heart.

"But we don't know that for sure. And we have a lead. It's a small one, but still, it's a start," said Tom.

The villagers seemed to quiet at this, daring to have hope, if only a little.

Van glanced questioningly at the Lt., who then mouthed the word _'Roran'ty'_.

Van nodded, understanding.

If they could return to the base, they could run a search for information on that name, and perhaps learn more about what they were up against.

Looked like they'd be heading back to HQ………..

_30 minutes later……….._

"-and remember, if you get to be present during an autopsy to TAPE it and send it to me-"

"Bye Sikes," droned Van, walking past the fanatic.

"-but have lots's ofwater around cause if it wakes up then you can kill it! They don't like water-"

"See ya!" called Tom.

"Graawwwrrrgh," Zeke growled, trotting past Sikes and heading towards the Liger.

"-and always keep foil handy! Their brainwaves can't penetrate it!"

Even amidst the pouring rain, the chubby man was yelling last minute advice on how to protect themselves against the 'aliens' that they would surely face in their adventures. He looked rather comical standing it the downpour, his shaggy mane of hair drenched and clinging to his face. But he wasn't the only one out in the weather……..

Nearly the entire village was there to see the group off, mainly out of gratitude for their eliminating their mercenary problem. Gawn could be seen standing in the crowd, yelling for them to beat the 'ever-living shit' out of the Roran'ty when they found them. Torick Mallo shouted encouragement along with other things, waving. And if one looked closely enough, you could see Cally and Ethan, jumping about in excitement and giggling their little heads off.

And the Guardian Force departed, in search of answers……..never suspecting that these events were setting something long foretold into action………….

_Somewhere near a certain hemlock……_

Hel pads along, its leg sparking occasionally.

"….,"

With tired violet eyes, Larka searches for the road, hoping to find a way back to Guss's hangar. She had turned the Panther around about forty minutes before, realizing that they wouldn't get far with its damaged leg. She'd planned to try and patch it up at the hangar before heading out again, not daring to stay in one place for too long.

With the past occurrences of the night, she realized that _somebody _was on her case about something, either wanting her captured……or dead. It didn't take a genius to figure that out…….

But as the land sloped up once again, Hel stopped, growling in its metallic voice…

"Wrrrrrrrrraaawwwrrr."

…..And turned to the side, all on its own…

"…Huh?" Larka tugged at the controls, only to find them locked.

The Helcat began to trot in a determined manner towards a clearing, baffling the pilot with its behavior.

"H-hey! The hell are you doin'? 'Up' is that way!" she growled, trying regain control of the independent little Zoid as she pulled at the steering mecha.

Needless to say, Hel ignored her, heading through the rainy forest to a familiar _glow_…….

And as the trees cleared, the youth stopped struggling with the 'reins' and stared at the Obelisk, which began to literally pulse with color as they neared it……

Hel growled a final time, before opening its cockpit, sending droplets of water everywhere.

Taking that as a bit of a hint, the teen dropped out, sword sheathed at her side as she landed easily on the wet ground. Above them, in the sky, lightening continued to flash and glow, thunderous all the while. But you could barely see it through the close nit branches of the trees over head.

"….,"

Without really even considering it, the teen walked forward, mesmerized by the sight. But as she reached her fingers out to touch it, a woman's voice spoke above her.

"_You know, if you touch that, things are going to change around here."_

Larka jerked up, senses immediately honing in on the presence.

And there was Ryss, seated comfortably on a large branch above her.

Larka's hand inched toward her crimson blade, purple eyes narrow as she glared at the blue hared lady.

"Relax," she grinned, swinging her dangling legs. "I don't bite."

"….Who are you?"

"My name's not all that important, so just consider me as a…_helper_ of sorts. Here to send you on your way."

"…..?"

Ryss gestured to the glowing rock, which was practically on fire with color. Still smiling, she continued.

"Do you know what that is?"

Larka shook her head, not taking her eyes off of the stone.

"Well, I suppose the pretty rock is not what really matters actually. Its what's _underneath _that counts."

Nonchalantly, the blue vixen leapt to the ground, landing gracefully. She girl-stepped forward until she reached the Obelisk, running a hand down its smooth surface.

"This ole thing is a bit of a _marker_, a landmark, if you will, for what is hidden under all this lovely wet dirt," she tapped the ground with her foot to emphasize. "And _you _my dark friend, are what it's been waiting for all these years."

"……..What?"

"Hm-hmm-hmm, yes, you wouldn't know anything about that…….or, at least, _remember_. But to put it as simply as possible, when youtouch this, it will be the beginning of your journey." Ryss spun on her heel to face her. "An ancient evil's forces are awakening in Zi, Larka, old prophecies are coming into fruition. And pretty soon……..the Dark Times will upon Zi once again."

Larka didn't bother asking how she knew her name or what she meant by all that other stuff. This woman didn't seem all that found of giving a straight answer……..so she asked something else.

"What has this got to do with me?"

"Hahaha, more then you'd ever guess. Butyou'll find all thatout eventually. Sothere really is no point in telling you justyet."

"Why do I have the feeling that you aren't going answer any of my questions?" she said, a frustrated look coming over her face.

"Doesn't Life deserve a little mystery?"

"………..,"

"Well I think it does……..makes it interesting."

"You're wasting my time-"

"Ha! Your time? What else have you to do, girl!"

"…….,"

"Besides, don't you want your memory back?"

"……Yes, but…" she trailed off, unable to think of what to say. Of course she wanted her memory back…her past...at least…..she thought she did….some of thememories she'd managed to hang onto after looking into the firehadn't been all that pleasant...

"Consider this your ticket to it then. It won't happen over night, but I can assure you, that this journey will bring a good deal of it back. Don't ask me how I know," she said, putting her hand up to cut off Larka's queries. "I can't tell you that. Yet. But I can tell you that this 'journey' I keep harping on about is what you were born for in the first place! It'ssad really, having the main reason for your existence all planned out for you. Heh, especially since it wasn't planned for **you **in the first place……,"

"What do you mean? I don't even know you…at least, I don't think I do...but here you are, telling me what my own destiny is! How do I know that this isn't some kinda……," she stopped, mainly because Ryss was gone.

She sighed, exasperated, eyes traveling back to the Obelisk before her.

"…….,"

…….And reached out, her hand touching its shimmering surface.

A quick zap of colorful electricity exchanged between her palm and the stone, and it exploded into a frenzy of shiny, flowing energy, before stopping all together.

The clearing went black, as black as black could get for their was no light, the glow from the frequent flashes of lightening from the storm unable to make its way past the branches.

_RUMMMMBBBLLLLEEEE!_

The ground started to shake, making Larka step back from the stone.

And then……..

FLAAAAASSSHHHH!

The Obelisk grew brighter than ever before, blinding the youth's sensitive eyes.

But when she opened them again……..it was gone. And in its place a stair case thatled deep into the ground.

Larka looked uncertainly behind her, staring and the murky form of Hel, who, she could tell, was watching this all quite intently.

She looked back at the opening, thinking on how she was gonna regret this, and started down……….

_Standing amid the deluge………_

"…….Hmmmm."

Ryss stood watching, a strange light to her eyes.

'_Didn't you ever think about how _you _could've returned her memory to her?' _asked Specula telepathically, misty blue eyes swirling.

"Yes. Actually I did."

'_And you didn't because?'_

"Because it's not my place to do so, that's why."

'_Feh. You've never had any qualms about stepping out of place, before. In fact, you do so quite often.'_

"That's not what I mean, Specula. Larka, or rather 'Angela', must find her memory on her own. Else, she won't actually go on 'the journey' to begin with," said Ryss matter 'o' factly. "She needs a motivation to……_walk_ the path to remembrance...for the prophecy to come true, not have it handed to her on a platter."

'_And you are so sure that she is the one, are you? I thought it was supposed to be the _third_ child that was destined to be the bane of Sargon'_

"Ah, but that's the real kicker of it now, isn't it? Angela _is _the third child."

'……_.?'_

"Trust me. She is the one. The Third."

'_sigh…….If you say so. I suppose I'll trust your judgement, Ryss. You normally are accurate about these sorts of things. But I only hope that you are not wrong…..for Zi's sake. ' _And with that, the blue Organoid began to tread away, into the dark.

Ryss stood there for a while, staring from a distance at the place where the teen had disappeared into the earth.

" '_And the valiant shall perish, The heroic shall fall, And darkness shall consume, Each one of us all' _" softly quoted the Zoidian, eyes agleam with the glow of distant lightening. "So, it has begun……," she murmured……before merging into the darkness as well……

………_and the rain came down……_

Well…..that took awhile. Sorry for the painfully long delay, but I was grounded from the computer up til about a week ago. So, yeah. Whateva'. Anywhooooo, whaddya think? Too flippin' cliché? Let me know…….Oh! and Happy Holidays an' all that crap! Yes, the time of stressful shopping and financial distress is upon us once again! Oh JOY!

_Thank you, Lord, for sarcasm -Jhonen Vasquez _


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